Why Do I Always Run Out of Room When I Choose Titl
by yarnybear
Summary: Nico Di Angelo, 8 yrs after Titan's Curse. READ, PLEASE. AND NOTE: THIS ISN'T YOUR GRANDMOTHER'S SAPPY ROMANCE STORY. Hahah! I'll never get writer's block! I'm sorry if you're depressed, but this is my writing style. The sequel is UP!
1. Min

Disclamer: I don't own the characters. The author does.

My name is Minerva Harmand. I live in a suburb of LA.

You might wonder about my strange name, _Minerva. _People call me "Min" for short.

My mother is a historian, and my father is an architect. They were studying in Italy, at the Temple of Minerva. That's where they first met. And things just took off from there.

I was born in Italy, and but my parents are American. My mother is half Italian, and I guess that's why she decided to study there.

When I was eight years old, my parents sold their apartment in Rome and moved everything to a LA. They bought a five-room house, in the hope of having other kids. They never did.

As the years passed, my parents got more successful in life. My father started an architectural firm, Armand Co. My mother was a leading historian and traveled a lot.

I never really got why my parents bought such a big house. My father's company was based in New York City, and my mother was always on the move. They were never with me after the resettling.

I sleep in the master bedroom. Hey, no one really cares.

My father hired a Mexican housekeeper, Maria, to cook and clean. A lady called Stephanie came to stay with me. Dad paid her with company money, passed off as a "work related cost". Stephanie's black SUV was also paid for.

Stephanie had glasses, and bleached blond hair. She lived in my parents' house and made sure I didn't get into trouble.

That meant she had to drive me places, take me shopping, pick me up from school. I thought of her as my "governess".

I was ten when I realized that Stephanie reported my daily activities with my dad. She was always a bit nosy.

Life was boring.

When I went to school, I met Nico.

Nico was a few months older than I was, and he was always quick to point that out.

He had dark hair and an olive complexion. He never really told me much about him, other than his guardian was a lawyer, he lived in an apartment, and he had an older sister named Bianca.

Nico and I were best friends. We were strange, and I guess that excluded us from the "cool" kids. He was stick thin, and I wasn't very tall.

We ate lunch together, played in the playground together and did everything together.

Well, mostly everything.

I went to riding lessons a couple of miles away. Stephanie drove me on Wednesday afternoons, right after school. My dad had probably told her that I needed extracurricular activities.

Nico went to fencing class at a fancy health club with an outrageous membership fee. I never really thought about his having money. I guess it never occurred to me why, even though he said that his mom was dead and he didn't know who is dad was.

I had never gone to Nico's house before. He always came to mine.

For my twelfth birthday, Nico brought me novelties. It was a custom, I guess. I got a Magic 8 Ball and a box of double strength, elbow length, cavity checking gloves that Nico said that he had stolen from LAX.

It was my custom to get him some collectible cards or action figures from his favorite game, Mythomagic. But over the years, he lost interest in them and I just gave him money.

When I was fourteen, things were different. 

Instead of being stick thin, Nico had filled out a bit. He was fifteen. He wasn't so painfully skinny now. I guess fencing practice paid off.

Before, there were groups of girls who giggled behind their hands and yelled insults at Nico. Now, they were still giggling, but staring too. And the insults had slackened off.

As for me, I could ride a horse bareback, and jump it five feet. I guess I was still sort of my regular self, just a bit taller. My slightly wavy dark brown hair was still the same.

My parents were home less and less.

Before, my mom came home about 4 times a month, and my father came every other week. They were getting more money as the years went by, but I missed them more and more.

When I was going to be sixteen in a few months, a silver Ferrari appeared in the driveway. Stephanie told me that it was an early birthday present from my dad, to practice driving for my license.

I thought it was a bribe for being without parents most of the time.

Nico had already gotten his license. He drove an old, crappy Ford.

One day, I had gotten a learner's permit, and Stephanie was sick. I snuck out to try and drive to school by myself. I was also wanted to show off my car.

But I was scared. My mom had gotten into a car accident a few months back, nothing serious. So I got Nico to ride with me.

I got to school okay. I breathed a sigh of relief.

But during school, I was getting anxious.

Nico sensed it, but I think he chose to ignore it. I walked to my car.

As I was pulling out of the student parking lot, there was a _wham!_

I had slammed into Seth McGregor's new red Maserati. And he was in it. I got out of the car, to apologize, and maybe offer to repair it.

Seth McGregor was a really spoiled kid. His dad was an executive of some company, which means he's rich. And not afraid to show it. Seth had a group of cronies, and was in the popular circle. He was really mean and rude, too.

He had gotten out of his car and was now yelling at me. Nico was in the shotgun seat, staring. He started to get out.

"You stupid nerd! That was my new car!" Seth's face was getting red with anger.

I felt Nico's hand on my shoulder.

"I'll talk to him. Just get back to the car and go home. I can get a ride with a friend"

So I walked to the car and slammed the door. I was reluctant to leave, but Nico made gestures with his hands. So I drove slowly away.

I never wanted to drive that silver Ferrari again.

The next day, I drove to Nico's and picked him up. We switched seats, because I hated driving. All the responsibility made me nervous.

Seth McGregor had come to school with a black eye, and everyone was whispering about it. People wanted to know who had done that to big, bad Seth.

I asked Nico about it, but he just smiled, like the smug cat from _Alice in Wonderland_.

By the end of the day, Nico was getting stared at, so I guessed that he was the one who messed up Seth's pretty face.

We drove home together in silence.

The next day, it was Saturday.

Nico and I walked around town. I stopped at a motorcycle dealership.

In the display window, there was a silver and black Harley-Davidson. It had black leather and chrome. I wanted it, but it was $12,000.

I walked in. Nico tugged at my arm.

Inside there was a salesman in a slightly crumpled suit. He looked tired and his hair was messed up.

"Can I help you, miss?" he asked wearily.

"Yes, uh, I want the black and silver bike in the window."

Nico hissed in my ear, "_You can't afford that thing_. You get 50 dollars a week allowance!"

I ignored that. "I have the $3,000 down payment; do I need to sign anything?" I fumbled in my pocket for my personal debit card. That would probably take everything out of my savings.

"Yes, miss. It'll be $200 a month and you can pay it off no interest for two years." The man was looking livelier, probably because he got money for selling.

I followed him into the office, Nico looking angry beside me.

The salesman plumped a packet of papers, with _X_'s by the place to sign. I signed them quickly.

Nico was looking resignedly at me. "You're wasting your money. You don't get to take it home until you pay $7,500 and if you do, Stephanie'll freak out and tell your dad. And he'd probably take it for your own safety. Besides, you don't even know how to ride one."

I glared at him. "I can learn. After all, it's probably not going to be harder than riding a horse."

With a sigh, he walked home with me.


	2. Bikes and Blood

Chapter 2

So I had a new bike. I didn't know how to ride it, but I knew one person who could teach me.

Charlie, from the stables, had a Harley, too. He was part owner of the farm, and was getting old. He had a white beard and wore a bandanna on his head.

I met him after school, on my regular practice day. Stephanie dropped me off.

I decided to skip the lesson, even though my mother paid for it, because I knew how to shoe a horse.

I met Charlie in the barn, mucking out a stable.

"Hey, Charlie, I got a new bike. I don't know how to ride it, so…can you teach me?" I sounded overly cheerful. Over the years, I had discovered that being attentive got you points.

"Sure, kid. My bike's in the back. Do you know the basics?" Charlie was a bit gruff, and blunt.

So over the month, I learned to brake without falling off the front of the bike, the hard way. I learned how to take care of a bike; to keep it in top condition.

Nico still looked at me, shaking his head. He was quite disapproving.

--

I was walking to class, biology, which was in the greenhouse. We were going to do an experiment on photosynthesis. I had my gardening gloves ready.

Nico walked with me; since his class, horticulture, was close to mine.

We were walking on the cement pathway. Suddenly, there was a rustling noise coming from the bushes to the left of us.

Nico was instantly alert. He was tense.

I just ignored it. I was going to be late to class if I didn't hurry up, and my arms were getting sore from holding a stack of books.

A woman jumped out of the bushes. She was pretty, with tangled hair.

Nico jumped back in surprise. He fumbled in his pocket for something, and I saw a flash.

I think he was holding a knife; it was hard to see. There was a strange blurring around it and the woman from the bushes.

He pushed me back, and I dropped my books. One of them landed on my foot, causing me to yelp in pain.

The woman turned from Nico to me, her strange slitted eyes attentive. Her tongue poked out of her mouth, and I noticed it was forked, like a demon's or a snake's.

She had yellow eyes, with black pupils. I don't think she was human, but it was hard to tell, because of the fog surrounding her.

She jumped forward, and it was really hard to know what happened because she moved so quickly. There was a searing pain on my shoulder, and it hurt like hell.

I choked at the sudden pain, and my shirt felt awfully clingy and uncomfortable. I touched my shoulder, feeling wetness. A sheet of pain came over me. When my hand came away, it was reddened with blood.

I just lay down, trying to keep from throwing up. My head hurt, and I was shocked because I've never been hurt like that before.

Nico sprang forward. His knife glinted in the sun. I think it was two feet long, I couldn't really recall that much.

He drove the blade into the chest of the woman, and she shrieked in agony. She swung her arms at him, trying to get her sharp nails into him.

Nico ducked. From his pocket, he pulled another knife. It looked like copper. He twisted under the snake woman's flailing arms and stabbed her in the back. She fell.

Nico pulled the first knife from her chest and started cutting her at the back of her legs. She couldn't get up. He worked like a surgeon. First the legs, then the arms. And finally, the neck. She stopped moving.

"Nico", I coughed out. I was feeling kind of detached and woozy.

Nico turned to look at me. His eyes widened at the blood on my shirt.

"What was that?" I managed to say. "She's not human, is she?"

Nico raised his eyebrow and looked to where the woman had lain.

There wasn't anything there. It was like the woman had vanished. The breeze blew, and some sand got in my eyes and stuck to the blood on my shirt.

Nico started ripping his shirt up to make a bandage. He added some pressure to the wound, and then some more. I think I fainted from the pain.


	3. A Cliche Moment

**C****hapter 3**

I think it was the pain in my shoulder than woke me. It was stinging and insistent. I looked at it, and it was covered in a thick gauze bandage. I realized I was lying on my bed, in my room.

Nico was sprawled on my beanbag in the corner, sleeping. I tried to prop myself up with my elbows.

I think it was my hiss of pain that woke Nico. He scrambled to his feet.

Nico picked up a glass of water from the bedside table. He handed it to me.

"Ew, I'm not going to drink this!" The water was cloudy, like it was tainted or something.

"Yes, you are," Nico replied sternly. "I dissolved some painkillers in it. You're going to have to wear long sleeves to cover your bandage for about two weeks. Your cut isn't deep, but it's long."

"So, you're not going to tell me who did this?" I gestured as best as I could with my good arm.

Nico totally ignored me. "It'll be a bit stiff for awhile after it heals, but it'll be alright. You'll have a scar. Which is cooler than a tattoo."

I scowled. "Nico, you are going to tell me who did this to me."

Nico frowned. "You tripped and fell. Luckily I was with you. I drove you home and fixed you up."

I was angry. "Liar. I can tell. Your hands are clenched. You always do that when you're lying."

I was getting worked up. And besides, shouldn't I know what happened? After all, I did get hurt.

"Listen, Nico, you _are _going to tell me what happened. If not, I'll tell Stephanie that you were trying to hurt me, and I mean _rape_. My dad will hear it and his lawyers will come down on you, like vultures. And I'll get the truth from you when you're in jail."

He was really annoying me.

"Min, you can't do that. And you don't have any proof." Nico was flustered.

"Oh, yes I can. And I will. Do not underestimate me, D'angelo. If you do, it'll be your head. Remember last year, when we did that experiment in Biology? I still have your blood, and hair samples."

Of course I was lying, but I was very good at this from years of lying to Stephanie.

Nico was fidgeting. It was only a matter of time before he gave in.

"Oh, and I there happen to be cameras installed in this house. You trespassed on my property."

I was amazed that he couldn't see through my prevarications. I was a bit nervous about the camera part. There were some, but not many, at the front of the house. And they had large blind spots.

I was a bit queasy at bringing my bad side out. But what had to be done must be done.

Nico gave in. I smiled inside.

"All right, I'll tell you.

"The _Duodecimus_, the Twelve, control all."

I cut him off. "Are you telling me that those stories that my mom has, in the little books in her office, are _real_?" I knew what "duodecimus" was. It was Latin for "twelve".

My mother, the historian, kept a collection of mythology in the little glass fronted cabinet in her office. She had all sorts of books: Thor and Freya, Odin, Ganesh and Vishnu, Magpie, Dreamworld, Zeus and Hera, Jupiter and Juno.

I had read them as a child, and I remembered my mother's bedtime stories, back when she was around a lot.

Nico's face was composed.

"Yes, they're all real. Athena and Ares, Apollo and Artemis. They produced children with mortals, creating mixed-breeds. And I happen to be one of them."

I was aghast. "So you're telling me that you're half god? This is unbelievable." I sat down hard on my bed.

"Yes, I am. It's called demigod, by the way." Nico was smiling, trying to be comforting. "Everything you learned in science is a lie."

"So-o. If you're so all powerful, then why are you friends with a poor, weak little mortal being like me?"

Nico grinned. "You aren't that weak, little mortal. The reason I wanted to be your friend six years ago was because I thought you were one of us. Your name, "Minerva" was a clue. But you don't have ADHD or ADD or dyslexia. And you weren't attacked by monsters. But you're still my friend."

I was confused. "Monsters? Disorders? What does that have to do with anything?"

Nico explained.

And after an hour or two, things were starting to fall into place, just like the clichéd jigsaw puzzle metaphor.

But one thing I never asked was who Nico's Olympian parent was. I didn't want it to change or distort my view of things. Sure, he would still be Nico, but somehow _different_.

I heard the door slam. Stephenie was back from her part time job, as a secretary or something. Nico's head jerked upwards.

"Min, I've gotta go. I can't use the front door. Can I use your window, please?"

"Sure. Bye, Nico."

Nico jumped up and went to the window. He pushed up the shutter, and slipped out on to the roof. Holding the gutter and pipes, he slid down to the ground. Nico looked around before he started running to his car, parked conveniently next to the bushes.


	4. Necromancer in the Park

**Chapter 4**

I think it was a day or two after I noticed anything strange. Nico had told me that once you were "aware" things started coming after you.

It was a dog. A giant hound, hiding in the shadows, nose on the ground. It was horrible, with slobbery spit strings just hanging from its jaws. And when it howled, I could see the yellowed teeth and red tongue.

No one seemed to notice anything out of the ordinary. And sometimes I didn't either. Most of the time I saw a little Chihuahua, surrounded by a some fog.

I think I experimented a bit, and it turned out that if I had some part of my body touching a keyring that Nico had given me years ago, I could sort of see what the misty stuff was hiding.

The keyring was a cheap plastic one, made in the shape of skull. Nico had given it to me a few Halloweens ago, and I hoped it gave me luck.

When I told Nico about the dog, he frowned a bit. "You should meet me at the park, 2:30 on Saturday."

I agreed. I hoped he would explain this further, dogs and magic keyrings.

-

The next day would be Saturday. But I had to prepare, _just in case_. I picked the lock to my mother's office, which she rarely used. I broke into her display cabinet, and took a couple of bronze knives she'd dug up in Greece, before I had been bored. I hoped some of them were the celestial bronze that killed monsters.

I thought it was sort of dumb that my parents used old fashioned locks, not the gel print ones at the bank. Anyone worth his salt could break in.

I tucked the knives into my combat boots. They had been made with specially sewn straps with buckles to hold knives. My boots were issued by the army and I had picked them up on sale at a flea market.

And I brought a stainless steel pocket knife. Celestial bronze didn't work on mortals, and getting mugged would be pretty dumb. Stephanie would report it to my dad and there'd be no more going out. For my own "safety" they'd say. Maybe a bodyguard if I was a bit more than a little hurt.

I went to sleep full of anticipation. I wondered what Nico would say or do; he'd always been a bit unpredictable.

On Saturday, I put on my combat boots and black tank top. I was getting into the martial spirit. Saturday had always been my lucky day. I was born on a Saturday; my parents were married on a sunny Saturday in June.

I took my bike to the park; Los Angeles had serious traffic problems. Nico was sitting under a palm tree, waiting for me.

"Min!" Nico looked me up and down, his eyebrow raised.

"Like the bling?" The hilts of the daggers glittered in the sun. "I hoped some of it would be celestial, but, since I'm a mortal I can't tell the difference between regular and magic."

"The one on your left leg is celestial, the one on the right is nicely made, by a blacksmith that knows his work, but it's just regular."

I unstrapped the bronze knife on my right leg. I was about to throw it away, but Nico's hand on mine stopped me.

"Keep it. You might need it. You know, there are some rather _unsavory_ characters out there." Nico was smiling.

"So…" I plunked myself next to Nico under the cool shade of the palm. "Aren't you going to tell me all about what you've been up to lately?"

Nico was a bit hesitant. "Sure, but I'd rather show you. See that?" He pointed to a dead dog, roadkill. It was lying on the road, its ribs showing. A group of crows pecked at it. A _murder_ of crows, I remembered from English. That was the correct plural form.

"Well, you ought to be holding your keychain right now".

I gripped the keychain, which I had conveniently put into my pocket earlier.

"Devoveo, concedere vita," Nico murmured. I could barely hear him under the noise of the traffic; it was so faint. His hand stretched out, and he pointed to one of the crows. It fell to the ground, and I could see that it was dead. All the other crows fluttered away.

Nico crooked his finger at the dead crow. "Animare!" The dead crow hopped back up, and I gasped. No pedestrians came to watch. I guess it was because a mist or something had surrounded it.

The crow hopped towards us, and I flinched back instinctively. It was hard not to get unnerved by a zombie crow.

The crow hopped closer to Nico, and I saw that he was unafraid. He started speaking to it, so fast that I couldn't catch what he was saying. The crow bobbed its head a couple of times. Then Nico pulled a knife from his pocket, and with a quick flick, a few drops of blood fell from his wrist and into the crow's waiting mouth.

"This crow will carry messages; it'll fly to you if I need your help. Call its name, 'Drolnya', if you need to send me a message. It'll come to you, no matter where you are. I don't really understand how to explain it, but I'll do it as best I can.

"You see, I have power, a gift from my father. I can steal the souls of the living and make them work for me."

I gaped at him, then whispered, "Necromancer…"

Nico smiled sadly. "You could say that. They don't exactly work for me. I _force_ them. With the power of my blood and being, I control spirits.

"Spirits, especially from the living, have so much potential. Like stem cells. With a hundred souls, you could power Chicago for two days. And if you think about it, that's a lot of energy.

"Since you're looking at me like that, I admit I _could_ use my own spirit. It's life force, in a crude way to describe it. But it tires me, and it already takes a lot to use that much concentration and willpower to force the spirit into submittance.

"Life force is energy. I use the same sort of method like Zeus. He turns his unlimited life force to make energy for his magic and lightning. But since I don't live forever, I'd rather not use my life.

"My sister had a similar gift, but her's was never as strong as mine. She could banish spirits, condemn them. She restored order, and I created chaos.

"To help balance all this terrible power, I was given Persephone's blessing as a child. I can give back power."

With these words, he gave my hand a light tap. All of my feelings of tiredness and pins and needles from sitting in one position disappeared. It felt like a super jolt of energy, like five Red Bulls in five minutes.

"Wow! That's awesome! Did you use your life force just then?" I felt like I could snap a tree in half, or run a twenty five mile marathon.

"That was the crow. It was quite young, and its power is so strong." Nico shook his head sadly. "It had years of life ahead of it. But at least it was a crow. Humans are so much harder. It's a lot of willpower to squash."

I gaped at him. Nico pushed himself of the ground, the crow hopping around him. It flitted off the grass and onto his shoulder.

"We should go now. Stephanie will be wondering where you are." Nico held his index finger near his shoulder, and the crow hopped on. He flung his arm up to the sky, and the crow took off, its obsidian feathers gleaming blue in the sun.

Nico and I walked home, since it was now rush hour.


	5. Teen Drama

**Chapter 5**

I was sitting in my room, at the vanity. My mother had given me this vanity, years ago. It was an antique, made of polished mahogany with an oval mirror. My eyes were red from crying. I picked up the cell phone lying on the table, and went through the speed dial to Nico's number.

"Can you come? I need to talk to you," I said. I flipped the phone closed and leaned back into my chair, exhausted. I flipped through my memories.

_I had hired a computer programmer, one of many from Silicon Valley. He needed money, and I needed information. For two hundred dollars, he hacked into my parents' computers._

_I discovered that my father had been cheating on my mother for ages, and my mother was beyond caring-_

The shutter of my window slammed. Nico was there, pulling himself over the sill.

"You called me," Nico wiped his hands on his shirt, and stood in front of the window, waiting.

"My life is falling apart." There it was, the blunt truth of it all. It felt good to get it out. I had been denying it for ages.

"How?" Nico was curious. It was understandable, because I'd been lying to everyone for ages.

"My father's been cheating on my mom, and my mom doesn't care. She worships at the altar of knowledge. She has no time for anything except for her books and papers and expeditions.

"My mother, once she realizes that she gets longer visas if she has a kid, she will want divorce. In fact, their lawyers have the papers all drawn up, waiting for the right moment. And when that moment comes, there'll be the biggest child custody in town."

"How do you know this?" Nico dropped to the beanbag chair, and he felt awkward. He had no idea how to help me.

"I hired a hacker." I said. It was kind of strange, telling your best friend how moral you were.

"My father's obsessed with appearances. And if he wins, I'd have to live in a penthouse apartment in a messed up city like New York. And if my mother wins, I'll live in Italy, or in a trailer where ever she happens to be working."

"Are you sure they're getting a divorce?" Nico was rather hesitant about this. I could tell that he wasn't sure if this was true or not.

"Yes, I went through their papers. Don't look at me like that, Nic, you'd do the same if you wanted to know if your life is going to do a one-eighty.

"I'd probably go to a stupid little finishing school, learn etiquette and courtesy. This house would probably go for about six million, maybe more.

"My parents, both of them, wouldn't let me have friends. I'd be lonely. And no riding lessons either." I put my head in my hands, staring at my reflection in the vanity mirror. A tear slid from my eye and onto the table. It was unlike me to cry, and in front of another person, too. Crying showed weakness. I gritted my teeth. I _would not_ look weak.

Nico was flustered. He really had no idea about what to do in a situation like this. And he had never seen me cry, ever. Scream, yes, but cry, no.

"And to top it all off, my parents have my future all mapped out. I'll be a historian, museum curator like my mom. Or an architect like my dad. I'd be the vice president of Armand. All the universities I should go to have gotten deposits to hold a place for me." I clenched my fists on the table, watching the red semicircles appear on my palms.

Nico was trying to look positive. "At least you have a mom and dad, and a nice house, too." I could see that his smile was strained.

"My dad wants me to go to New York tomorrow. He's got 'friends' he wants me to meet. And I already know what's in store for me." I got off the chair and stuck my hands under the bed. My hands groped around until they found an old photo album.

I blew the dust off the plastic cover and opened it. Flipping through the pages, I finally found the spot I was looking for. I held the book up to Nico.

"See this boy? He's the son of one of dad's 'friends'. His name is Jonathan Prentiss, and his father owns a construction firm."

The picture was of me, about one and half years ago, standing next to a seventeen year old boy with sun bleached hair. We were standing in front of a blue pool, in the summer.

"That guy, Jonathan, I think he's in love with me. My dad wants take advantage of that. He wants me to marry him and that means an Armand and Prentiss company. He'll take the twenty percent stocks as the bride price."

"Wow. Your family is messed up," Nico said, and then he covered his mouth. "No offense to you of course."

"No offense taken. I've realized that years ago." I dropped the photo album on the desk. "I have to go to the Hamptons, to his family's summer home. It's torture, but it's better than isolation."

"So, how come your dad wants a bride price? Isn't that really old fashioned?" Nico was extremely upset by this. I couldn't really see why.

"All the companies do this. That's why celebrities marry other celebrities. And you can break a paper pact than you can a blood pact. It's blood for blood. It's sort of like insurance. And I'm just glad betrothal's out of fashion. Besides, all my dad really wants is money." My throat was closing up. My eyes were getting watery, and my nose was starting get drippy. I could imagine how I looked, a creepy monster with red eyes and tear tracks down my cheeks.

I was staring at myself in the mirror. I couldn't bear to see how low I'd fallen. I'd broken my own rule. So I stared at the desk. I heard footsteps. The sound stopped right behind me.

Nico wrapped his arms around me and gave me a hug. "I'm sorry, Min. I know that you hate clichés so much, but I wish I could do something about the quicksand you're stuck in."

"Thanks, Nic."

**Author's Note: Darn! Messed up! I wish it didn't end this way. Thanks to all my readers. And writing a chapter a day is really killing me.**

**This plot is not supposed to be like this!! clenches teeth**

**But I guess this is how the cookie crumbles.**


	6. Los Angeles to Long Island

**Chapter 6**

When I woke up in my bed, Nico was gone. I got up and started packing. Carelessly, I went to my walk-in closet that I only used a quarter of. I grabbed a bunch of shirts still on their hangers and dumped them in a suitcase. I sighed.

Stephanie stuck her head in the door. "The plane leaves in thirty minutes, and I expect you to be on your best behavior." The door slammed as she left.

A breeze blew a couple of shirts to the floor. I picked them up and went to close the window. There was an envelope on the sill, with a note pinned to it. I picked it up.

_Min,_

_can you deliver this to Half-Blood Hill, 3.14 Farm Road, in Long Island? _

_-Nic_

I flipped the envelope over. There was no address on it, but there was a wax blob with a skull impression. _ That's kind of redundant, _I thought, seeing that the envelope was the kind that you licked to close.

But according to historical fiction, the wax could be scraped off with a hot knife. The envelope could be steamed open and closed again.

So I took my stainless steel pocket knife and turned my bedside lamp on. I held the blade to the light bulb until I thought it was hot enough. I gently slid the knife under the edge of the seal. It was an extremely slow because if you did it quickly and messed up, the seal would crack and the receiver would know that it had been tampered with.

The seal popped off onto the table. I set it aside to reheat and reapply. I needed an iron. So I went to the linen closet and found one. Filling it with water, I plugged it into the wall socket to wait for it to heat.

And when it heated I brought it to the envelope's seal. The seal started to curl from the steam, and I peeled it open. There was a single sheet of paper inside. I unfolded it and started to read.

_Jackson:_

_I can't stop them. There are more and more of them every day. There's a monster problem, and it's getting out of hand. I need more firepower! I can only create so many warriors. I don't know what your problem is, but if you still want Western Civilization, then you and your buddies ought to get your butts down here._

_-D'Angelo_

_This is very interesting, _I thought. Must be some drama going on between Nico and this Jackson person.

I went to find a replacement envelope, because the steam curled edges of the old one were dead giveaways. So I went through my desk until I found an envelope that looked a lot like the old one.

I slid the letter in, and reheated the knife. I pressed the edge to the back of the wax seal, and when it was melted enough, I stuck it on the envelope's seal. There. No one would know what happened to it.

I tucked it into my suitcase. Then I started packing up. The plane would leave in ten minutes, and I wanted to wear my own clothes, not the itchy new ones Stephanie would surely buy.

Stephanie drove us to the airport in record time. The plane was about to leave. The plane was one my dad's company's private jets. It could fit thirty people, and had the company logo, a Greek column, on the tail. I boarded the plane.

A stewardess in a neat blue uniform came up to me. "Miss, would you like anything?"

I asked for a blanket and a pillow. I was going to sleep.

--

Stephanie woke me when the plane landed. The wheels hit the ground, bounced up, then landed on the ground smoothly.

My dad's personal assistant was at the airport, waiting with a black BMW. Stephanie put all our luggage in the trunk. The personal assistant, whose name was Jennifer, explained that I was to live in my father's apartment in an expensive high rise building. I'd have the guest room, the room with a window as one whole wall.

The apartment building even had a doorman, who saluted us. We rode a gold elevator, with red plush carpeting and mirrored wall, which I supposed, was to let rich people gawk at themselves while waiting for their stop.

I was given a key for the apartment. Stephanie left for her hotel. I had the whole place for myself. I was pretty nice, and big, too. The tasteful furniture and décor looked like an interior designer had fixed it up to make it look in humanly perfect. I went to my room. The glass wall let in a lot of sunlight, and there were curtains in case I didn't want to see the view.

I dumped my bags on the white carpet and opened the huge walk in closet. It was filled with clothes. I went through them, and it was disconcerting to discover that they were all my size, and ridiculously expensive. Someone must have been shopping for me.

I walked back out, and found a noted on the door that I must have overlooked. I t said that there was a party tonight, and that I'd have to choose one of the gowns from the back of the closet.

I went back to the closet and found a door hidden behind boxes of shoes. There was a small room whose lights went on when the door was opened, probably by a motion senor.

I chose a simple black dress, one that had a decent length-up to my knees. It wasn't revealing, just an understatement. It certainly looked more comfortable than the other dresses.

I hung the dress from the closet door knob and lay on my bed, staring at the fresco of clouds on the ceiling.

At six thirty, the personal assistant came in and told me to go clean up for the party. I locked myself into the bathroom-tasteful marble-and came out wearing the dress.

Jennifer, the PA, clucked her tongue when she saw me. She told me to sit in the chair in front of the bathroom mirror and put makeup on me. It was uncomfortable, feeling the sticky gloss and itchy powder brush. Jennifer brushed my hair and let it hang loose down my back.

"Now for some shoes", she said, disapproving of my scuffed black combat boots.

She went into the closet and came out with black shoes with two and half inch heels. The straps weren't very wide. I suspected that they'd be cutting into my feet after a few steps.

Jennifer ignored my complaints and began to tie them on. They made walking difficult and running, almost impossible.

We rode the elevator down in silence; the BMW ride wasn't must better.

Jennifer parked in front of a large mansion just outside the city limits. It had flood lights over the carefully clipped lawn. I could hear a fountain.

I swung my feet out of the car, balancing over the gravel driveway. I was swinging my purse, to Jennifer's disapproval.

When I walked inside, I realized that it was Jonathan Prentiss's house.

The next hours were _extremely_ tedious.

My father was present, and it made things weird. We and the Prentisses had dinner together, and then all the adults started talking about a merger between the companies. I felt Jonathan's eyes on me, and tried to ignore it.

I slipped into the spacious living room and sat on a couch in the corner, taking my phone from my purse and texting Nico.

Someone snatched the phone from me. I stood up, a cry of anger on my lips.

"Looks like little Minnie's got a boyfriend!" a boy's voice crowed.

"Stop it Alex." I saw Jonathan and presumably Alex standing over me. "Alex was just about to leave, wasn't he?" He looked meaningfully at Alex. Alex got the suggestion and left.

"Here's your phone," said Jonthan, handing it to me. "Sorry about that." Then he turned serious.

"My father's going to invite you to stay in this house for a few days. You'll be pressured to accept, and it'll be hell for the rest of your life after that. I know that you hate people digging their claws in you, so I'm warning you. I can't help other than that, Min, or they'll know. Min: you have to run." Jonathan whispered urgently.

"When?" Now this? I was feeling confused and tired.

"Now is the best time." Jonathan gripped my shoulders, then gave me a quick hug. "I'll miss you, Min. Goodbye." He strode away, looking as if nothing had happened.

I sighed, then, saying I needed some air, I sneaked out of the back door. Skidding over gravel, feeling the straps of my shoes cut into the tops of my feet. The straps broke. It was nightmare.

The decorative bushes tore my dress, the hard ground hurt my feet. I took my shoes off after falling to my knees for the third time. It was night, and I needed transportation.

I felt in my purse. I had a phone, Nico's letter, the skeleton keyring, and some cash: a one hundred dollar bill.

I ran for a few more minutes, until I had to slow down to a walking, gasping for breath. I saw a man getting out of a taxi and quickly flagged it down.

"Please, can you get me to Farm Road, in Long Island? Here's a hundred. Try to make it as quickly as you can." I gabbled out. T

If thee driver noticed my torn dress and my bare, scratched feet, he didn't say anthing. I fell asleep, exhausted.

It was the brake of the car that woke me up. Feeling disoriented, I got out of the car and onto soft grass. There was a hill with a pine tree in front of me. A large house with a veranda and inviting lights looked down from the hill.

With tired feet, I trudged up. After a few minutes, I was on the top, near the pine tree on the border. I tried to go farther, but there was a strange barrier. I couldn't see it, but I could feel it.

I wanted, needed to get through barrier. I felt for the letter. It could go through the border, I found, but who would discover it? If it needed to be delivered by hand, then it probably needed to be delivered in person.

So I sat, leaning against the barrier. I racked my brain. Then it hit me! The crow, Nico had said that it would come to me. Perhaps Nico had the answer about the barrier.

I stood up, cupping my hands around my mouth. "Drolnya!" I called, until my throat hurt from thirst and exertion.

I fell asleep waiting beside the barrier.

**Author's Note – I have an idea about the end, but I just need to make it fit with the middle.**

**Thanks to everyone who put up with Chapter 5, Teen Drama. Hopefully, the action is going to come.**

**As I said, a chapter a day is KILLING me. Gah!!!!**


	7. Hubris and Arguments

**Chapter 7**

A caw woke me up. My eyes opened. The sun streamed down brightly, blind me for a few moments. A shadow fell over me.

"Min!" It was Nico. The crow, Drolnya was perched on his shoulder. Nico was bent over me, and I was lying in the grass.

I realized what sort of state I was in. My feet and knees are bruised and bloody, because I had run without shoes. The bottoms of my feet were scratched and cut. My dress was torn and soiled; it was soaked with dew from lying on the ground all night. I realized what I had done, and I groaned. My back hurt from sleeping on the ground, my neck ached. I felt and probably looked a mess.

"Nic, can you help me up?" I tried to get up by myself, but the scabs on my feet cracked. I hissed with pain.

"Min..." Nico was staring at me. "Min, you're wearing makeup!" He sounded surprised.

"I don't wear makeup," I said, tying to prop myself up with my elbows.

"Um…yes you are…" Nico was still staring; he started to say something, but I guess he decided not to.

"Darn!" I remembered that party, and what had been planned for me. "Okay, I admit I am, but I didn't agree to it. So, how do I get past the barrier?"

"Well, you need to get up first," Nico was getting impatient. He wrapped an arm around my waist and another around my wrist, and pulled me up.

I staggered. My feet were screaming with pain, and the scabs started to rip apart.

"Do you need me to carry you?" Nico asked, looking down at the blood oozing from the ripped scabs. It looked and felt painful.

"No need to," I said, through gritted teeth. I wouldn't accept charity. And I could walk to the house on the hill. I thought.

Nico sighed. "Well, since you can walk by yourself," here he looked pointedly at me. "We'll go through the barrier. It's supposed to keep mortals and monsters out. But since you have a magic keyring, you could see it, but not get through.

"I'll have to push some of my life force into you. It'll make you feel a bit weird, but it'll only be temporary. It will trick the barrier into thinking that you're me." Nico held my hand for a few moments, and I noticed some blue sparks surrounding our hands.

I had flashbacks, but it was weird, because they weren't mine. They were Nico's. His memories swirled around in my head. I found that he had taken a skeleton horse from an old Indian grave and had reanimated it. He rode it to Long Island, and it took him only a few hours because he fueled it with someone else's life force. I shuddered.

Nico and I walked to the barrier. Or actually, Nico walked and I hobbled. The barrier loomed closer, and I saw that it was like a huge dome, a bubble, over the hill.

We walked through. It felt like putting a finger through a soap bubble, a strange tickling sensation. When we walked to the other side, there was a _pop_! Just like a bubble.

Nico was took his magical sparks back. I still had the memories, though. It was weird flicking through another person's life, like a movie or something.

I tried not to show my limp, and it was hard. Nico noticed.

"Hm…" he murmured. "You have hubris."

"Exuse me?" I was offended. 

"_Hubris, _from Greek _hybris,_ it's the sin of pride." Nico said, calmly.

"Yes, I know what it means, but why are _you_ accusing me of it?" I was angry. How dare he judge me!

"Someone should tell you. You'd kill yourself for pride and honor. Well let me tell you, it's not worth it. Hades is not worth it. And believe me, I know." Nico was getting a bit argumentative. "I'm saying it because I don't want you dead, least of all by your own hand."

I shut up. I was thinking: Nico had said that he knew what Hades was like. And he wasn't dead.

"I know who your immortal parent is!" I gloated.

"Well, do enlighten me, Min." Nico was smiling. I knew that he expected me to know. And I did. He dropped a lot of hints.

"You're Hade's son, aren't you? All that stuff with the dead, it kind of tipped me off." I was triumphant.

Nico grinned. "You're correct, Min. I'm surprised you didn't guess earlier."

I smiled. "I just wanted to make sure. After all, if I guessed wrong, you'd be pretty annoyed."

So we made it up the hill. There was a figure standing ahead of us.

Nico cursed. "So, it's Jackson again? I should have known."

The figures held out a hand. "Well, if it isn't D'Anglo again. And who's that?"

Nico sneered. I knew that he could be a bit mean when he was angry. "Yes, it's me, _Perseus_. And my friend Min. And I don't see why you should get angry at that, seeing that your mom's one of them."

We were closing in on the figure. It was a man, about twenty four years old. He had black hair with a grey stripe, like Halloween thing, or like Rogue from X-Men. He had green eyes. They were really green, like the contacts lenses girls wore at school.

Nico gave a hoarse laugh. And so low that I could barely hear, he whispered. "Daddy's little mistake, aren't you? I can see why."

Perseus's arm moved so fast I could barely see it. There was a sword pointed at Nico's throat. I moved forward, but Nico's arm held me back.

Nico laughed again. It was a mean laugh, sort of like Doctor Evil or something. There was a shower of blue sparks and Perseus fell to his knees. The sword dropped from his hand.

"Stop it Nico!" A woman ran up to us. She had blond hair with a matching grey stripe, like Perseus's. Her grey eyes flashed. "He doesn't deserve it, and it's not his fault we have to be careful. Times are hard."

"Just for you, Annabeth, I'll let him go." Nico smirked. Perseus stopped shuddering. He picked up his sword, and stood up, next to Annabeth.

Perseus was angry at Nico. I could see that they had some kind of feud going on, and it had been going on for ages. "D'Angelo, you're supposed to be in the West, keeping the monsters down. You can't just abandon your post."

"Yes, I can, if there happens to be a good reason. I was going to send you a letter." Nico nodded at me. I got the hint and rifled through my purse. I found the letter and handed it to Perseus.

Perseus ripped it open, and started to read. He frowned. "More reinforcements? You know that can't happen. We can't live there."

"So that's why I took a fast horse and rode here. If I can't get more fighters through a letter, maybe I can get one in person." Boy, he was smooth. The only reason he came was because I called for Drolnya.

"I can't make that decision. It's up to the campers. You and the mortal with have to stay here while we decide." Perseus was unhappy. He folded the letter, stuffed it back into the envelope, and shoved it into his pocked. He and Annabeth turned around and walked away, not even bothering to say goodbye.

"So, this is the legendary Camp Half-Blood? Where are we going to stay while we're here?" This camp didn't really impress me.

"All the campers have cabins based on their parent. Hades isn't part of the Duodecimus on Olympus, so he has no cabin. We can either live in Hermes's Cabin, because he gives shelter to travelers," He shuddered. "But that's full of thieves and liars. The Big House is an option, but Dionysus is a pervert. And you probably wouldn't want to live there. The last option is in the woods. I have a camp out there, next to the creek. It's not what you're used to, but it's better than the alternatives."

Nico and I walked to the woods. We passed the happy satyrs, and the sword fighting demigods.

There was a trail in the woods, and Nico led us deeper. We strolled on the banks of the creek. Finally, we got to his camp. There was a small two man tent pitched, with a fire pit.

Nico gestured. "This'll be your home for the next few days. We'll eat our meals at the pavilion near the house. I'll have meetings to go to tomorrow, so you'll have to occupy your time. There's a stable on the left part of the camp, and it's open all day.

"We have some sports and competitions." He grinned. "There's a chariot race in two days, and I expect to win it."

**Author's Note: I have a few chapters planned out currently, but I'm too lazy to put them out on a regular basis. **

**A chariot race! I know who'll win and how. Yay! **

**It's probably about time for some action and some of Rick Riordan's characters.**

**And you've probably figured out that Nico and Min aren't all nice and perfect little angels. **


	8. Fights: Physical and Verbal

**Chapter 8**

At sunset, Nico and I went to the pavilion for dinner. We were handed full platters by nymph waitresses. There were rows of tables, twelve of them, one for each of the Olympian gods. Hades had none.

We saw Perseus sitting by himself at Poseidon's table. We walked over, balancing our heavy plates.

Nico and I sat down.

Nico grinned at Perseus. "Mind if I sit here? We are after all, first cousins."

Perseus ignored me. He said, "You should not be here. Without you, we cannot hold the monsters on the West Coast."

Nico smiled, "but that, dear cousin, has already been taken care of. Before I left, I raised the bodies of one hundred dead men and gave them the lives of one hundred living beings. Don't complain, cousin, cousin, I took life only from the old, the weak, and the sick. They should thank _me_ for ending their pain."

Perseus fumed. "Still, you shouldn't have taken a single life. Our cause is to fight evil, and preserve life, not take it away when there were other alternatives."

"You can't make an omelette without breaking a few eggs," Nico said, in a rather annoyed tone of voice, "likewise with just causes. You can not do that without hurting someone's feelings, at the least."

Perseus frowned, "I liked you better as a kid-"

Nico cut him off. "I'm not a child any more, and neither are you. It's time to grow up and face the facts. Western Civilization is falling apart, fast."

Perseus wasn't very happy at this. "You can't be sure. It could just be a test, maybe a challenge from the gods. They want to be sure of our faith in them."

Nico sneered, "Are you so quick to judge? I have nothing to lose"-here he glanced at me. I was pretending not to listen, so I made myself look as if I were absorbed in my food-"And you have everything. Your father, mother, Annabeth, Tyson. Death is eternal, and I'm assured a safe place if it comes to total destruction. You have no such plans."

Perseus looked very sad for an instant, then his feelings turned to anger. He got up and pushed his plate away, walking to Annabeth at Athena's table. They had an angry, hushed argument, which made some of Athena's children nearby very curious.

I pointed to Perseus and Annabeth. "Aren't they related?"

Nico laughed. "Perseus is Annabeth's mother's cousin. Very awkward, at family reunions."

"Well, won't their kids be retarded or something?"

"Not necessarily. The god blood in them will make them healthy, strong, and above all, extraordinarily gifted. Think about it. The power of the oceans and a very high intelligence.

"I wonder, if their kids will be arrogant…" I mused.

"Maybe. Annabeth has hubris, too. The children would grow up knowing that their parents are on of the greatest heroes of Olympus. But only time will tell."

--

We camped in the woods. I lay in my sleeping bag, watching Nico. He wasn't going to sleep. I asked him, "Why aren't you going to bed? You have meetings tomorrow."

Nico was facing the clear plastic door flap. He turned. "There are monsters roaming in the woods, all the time. They are especially active at night. Hellhounds, hydras, harpies. If you don't want to wake up with your throat slashed, then I'll have to take guard duty."

I shrugged. "Good night, then. See you in the morning."

Nico smiled. "Good night, Min."

--

When I woke up, it was dawn. There was a piece of paper tucked under my pillow. I picked it up and unfolded it. It was a map of Camp Half Blood, with a small _X _on the stables.

On the back, Nico wrote that he'd see me after lunch. Until then, he'd be in the Big House meeting with the heads of the cabins, Dionysus, and the hero trainer Chiron.

I went to breakfast. There weren't many other people there. I took a muffin and some milk, and sat at Poseidon's table by myself.

After breakfast, I walked to the stables. The camp really was lovely. There were satyrs frolicking in the strawberry fields, and a small marble Colosseum replica. I could see an amphitheater, and a miniature version of the Circus Maximus. Maybe they had bear bating and lion fighting.

The stables were in a long building, a barn. There was the smell of hay, horse manure, and horses. I walked into the main section of the building.

Tack hung from the walls: reins, bits, brides, saddles, stirrups, and saddle blankets. The air was warm and the scent of horses permeated the air. All around me were the sounds of neighing and snuffling.

I walked past the stalls. All of the stalls had a little name plate, probably the horses' names.

I passed Solarion, Arctic Breeze, Achilles, Wilhelm, Polaris, Blackjack, Bucephalus, Montague, Atalanta, and finally stopped at the last stall, one labeled Oxide.

I liked Oxide. He was a stallion, reddish brown in color. What I really liked were his wings. I thought it was sort of strange that horses had wings, and that would mean having a messed up saddle, but it was probably worth the fun of flight.

I rode Oxide around the track. First at a trot, next a canter, and then a gallop. I wanted to fly. So I touched Oxide's flanks lightly with my heels and he took off.

It was exhilarating, the rush of cold air, the feeling of weightlessness. It was like an amusement park ride, or hang gliding. I was thrilled.

After I got Oxide back to his stall and rubbed him down, it was lunch time. Most of the older campers had gone to the meeting, so I ate by myself again. There were a lot of younger campers, a bit rowdy from the lack of adult supervision.

When I was finishing my lunch, Nico arrived. He sat next to me, his head in his hands.

"How was the meeting," I asked, a bit curious.

"Not going very well," Nico replied, sighing. "They won't give me reinforcements, and they're all making up ridiculous excuses."

"Never mind that, I'll get them to see my way in a few days. You should brush up on your self defense skills."

So Nico and I went to the training ground. It was mostly empty, except for a one woman. She was about twenty six or so, and had stringy, limp brown hair. She stabbed at a straw dummy with a spear.

Nico taught me the exact way to flick my wrist so a knife or throwing dagger flew true. I couldn't really get it right, and it rankled.

"Here, hold your wrist straight, and give a flick, like this." Nico demonstrated, and hit a target accurately, which annoyed me. "Now you try."

I held the knife and with a flick it buried itself in the ground a few inches from the spear girl's foot.

She turned around, hefting the spear dangerously. "Watch your weapons girl! If you weren't a mortal, I'd rip your guts out and make you eat them. But you're such a delicate little flower, aren't you, you little-"

Nico snarled. "Clarisse! Your mouth has always had the best of you." Nico's hand moved, swift as a krait. There was a bang.

Nico's sword had landed on Clarisse's spear, which she held in front of her, just in time to deflect the thrust.

Clarisse growled. "My father will come and get you, I'll see to it he will!"

Nico jeered, "There's no need to be so insecure. Stop hiding behind your father; you know that he'll never help you without benefit to him. He's abandoned you, and he only comes if he wants something from you."

Clarisse was angry. With a cry, she launched herself at Nico, her spear spinning in her hands. Nico dodged under the spear.

Clarisse jabbed at Nico's belly, but he leaned back. As he was leaning, his sword flashed out, and twisted the spear's haft. He knocked it out of Clarisse's hands, and with a smile, he had the sword at her throat.

"Be careful, little girl. There are always enemies out there." Nico smirked, and looked smug.

Clarisse frowned and turned on her heel.

"She's a piece of work, that Clarisse. Not much of a challenge, though," Nico said, turning to me. "Ignore her. She's been abandoned for years, and there are psychological repercussions."

"Let's go see the chariots, then. The race is tomorrow."

Author's Note: Fight scene! I like action!

Review please, and thanks to my dedicated readers.

Yep, thanks to everyone for reading this. I have midterm exams, so I'll update as soon as I can. This has a real plot, chariot race coming soon!


	9. Chariot Crash

**Chapter 9**

Nico took me to the workshops, where people forged swords and created busts of the gods. There was a garage section, filled with chariots.

I followed Nico to a disused part of the garage. He pulled a dirty white sheet off of a chariot.

"Here it is, Min. It's a two man chariot. I'll fight if you can drive. Do you know how to drive one of these?" Nico was rather proud of the chariot.

"Nico…is that chariot made of bones?" I was rather hesitant. The chariot looked like it was made of thousands of different bones, stuck together. "I may be able to drive it. I can drive a one seater, but this is pretty small…"

"Yes, it's made of bones. Bird bones, to be precise. They're strong and light, which is most important in chariot races." Nico grinned, showing off the chariot. "I made it myself. It should be easy to handle."

"Okay, well, if you're so sure." I was a bit unsure, doubtful. I had never driven a chariot, much less an opened back, bird bone chariot. It was so light it had leather strips woven for the floor, and you had to have good balance to even stand up; it would be extremely hard when it was in motion, with the bumps in the road liable to throw a person off.

--

So Nic showed me how exactly you rode in a chariot, the way you positioned your feet for the maximum balance in a crowded little basket on wheels.

He had brought the chariot outside the workshops. "See the wheels? The spokes are pretty thin, so a good whack would cause then to break. That means the wheel would collapse on the road and bring the whole chariot down. No matter how much Hephaestus's cabin can try, they can't get the road perfectly flat even.

That's why this chariot business is so serious. You fall off, and trust me, the pot holes and lumps will cause you to lose your balance. You break an arm, that's possible, even likely, with a frail little mortal like you. But I want those laurels, and you probably don't want to be excluded. So please hold on, tight."

I nodded.

-

We went to the training ground. The girl from Ares's cabin wasn't there. That was a relief.

Nico went into the storage building and came out holding a huge pile. "There here's your armor. You need to protect yourself while driving. There's a fighter on the chariot for that reason, but there's a chance something will slip through." Nico gave a grim smile.

He threw the armor on the ground. It made a large _thump! _And so he picked every piece up, and explained the usage.

"These are the greaves. They're sort of like shin guards, in soccer. You don't wear them under your socks, though. They have buckles on the back so you can get the exact size right…."

I hoped I remembered right.

-

Nico and I walked to dinner. We were glared at by members of the Ares cabin. Apparently, Clarisse had told all her half brothers and sisters what happened to her earlier that day.

But Athena's cabin saluted Nico, and Nico smiled. So Athena was Ares's enemy. I made a note of that.

We went to the camp in the woods. The sun was setting. I could hear the cicadas, and it was really loud and as equally annoying.

I slipped into my sleeping bag. Nico wasn't sleeping again. This was the second night in a row. I guess demigods didn't need sleep as much as mortals.

I yawned.

Nico turned, a smile on his face. "Good night, Min."

-

In the morning, there was a frenzied rush of activity by all of the campers, no matter what cabin.

Aphrodite's cabin was in charge of the after party, and I could hear them chattering on about streamers and h'ors de'ouvres.

The other participating cabins were trash talking. I was called "weakling" and "frail". I sighed.

Nico tried to be cheerful. "Come on, eat breakfast. You'll feel okay when the race starts. After all, it's just a race, isn't it?"

"Nic, false enthusiasm doesn't work on me." I was hyper, and jittery.

"Sure, Min, sure." Nico smiled encouragingly at me. "You'll feel better when we hit the track."

By now, the other campers had left their seats in the pavilion and were making their way to the track. Spectators were finding the best seats, away from the sun and in the shade, with a good view of the track.

Dionysus and Chiron had the best seats of all, with a little canopy to keep the sun off of them.

Nico brought the carriage out. It was pulled by two horses, black ones. "This is Solstice, and this is Azrael. They're the best horses I could find, and are the fastest."

I could tell Solstice and Azrael were good. They were thoroughbreds, and expensive looking. No doubt that they had good breeding and training. I hoped I was ready.

Nico unloaded the chariot. "Here's your armor. Do you need help putting it on?"

I shrugged.

In the end, Nico helped me get the breast plate and helmet on. I put the leather skirt over my jeans.

Nico put his own armor on, faster then I ever could. His wasn't the generic bronze that mine was; it was black enamel with silver trimming. His sword hung from its scabbard, a few inches of blade showing for a quick draw.

Nico grinned. "Hop on, try to get used to driving. I'll try to protect you, but here are some knives, just in case." He slipped two knives under the buckle of the greaves and jumped onto the chariot with ease.

I stepped on, and grabbed the reins. A flicked them, and the horses started moving. Slow at first, then faster. The bumping was uncomfortable and annoying.

We got to the track, joining the ranks for chariots jostling for the best position, by the inner edge of the ring. That meant that it would be the shortest way around, but other cabins would want it too, and try to squash you to run into the fence.

Dionysus stood up, looking bored. He had a can of Diet Coke in his hands. He yawned. "Campers, on your mark, get set, GO!" He sat back down.

The chariots took off. I slapped the reins on the horses's backs, and they started running. I concentrated on driving while Nico defended me.

A shadow fell over me. I looked up. It was a weighted net from Ares's cabin. Clarisse snarled at me. I noticed that Ares had skeleton horses. It creeped me out.

Nico's sword flashed in the air, and the net was soon shredded. Pieces of it rained down and stuck to me. They itched.

Then Nico closed his eyes, murmuring to himself. I heard screams of anger and rage. Ares's horses had collapsed into a pile of bones on the ground, the driver whipping them to no response.

Nico smiled, looking tired. We thundered past Ares. Hephaestus was approaching. They had robot horses. Their chariot was made of metal, and was extremely heavy. It was slow but well defended.

Beckendorf, the fighter, aimed a shoulder cannon at us. But Nico was quicker. He growled a command at the ground in front of their chariot. It rose up, higher and higher. The horses, not having this programmed into their systems, ran into it. The chariot crashed into the earthen wall, Beckendorf yelling with fury. Apollo was caught in the wreck.

Athena aimed a spud gun at me. Nico sliced the first potato in half, right next to my ear. I flinched. Nico made the bumps in to road in front of them rise up, until the horses tripped with exhaustion.

Hermes, Athena's ally, tried to get revenge. Travis Stoll threw an open bag of itching powder at us, but Nico bounced it off the flat of his sword and into Demeter's chariot, right next to us.

Nico smiled smugly, and the earth started to suck in Hermes and Demeter's chariot wheels. It looked like they were sinking in quicksand.

The only person Nico couldn't get was Perseus. Perseus dodged and spun every time a lump in the ground started to get bigger. I flicked the reins, and we caught up to him.

Perseus had a javelin in his hand, and he aimed at Nico. Nico ducked the thrust, but Perseus had just feinted. Perseus drove the javelin into the spokes of the wheel. He must have had some kind of souped up javelin, because the point flew off and hit the axle, splintering it.

Nico roared, furious. The ground started to rumble. A crack formed in the ground in front of Perseus. Perseus stopped laughing at us, and tried to get across the crack before it got too big.

The axle was splintering, but the finish line was approaching. I saw Perseus jump the gap, but his spokes splintered on impact with the ground. Served him right.

Nico was trying to keep the chariot together, but it wasn't working. Perseus was urging his horses closer to us.

We were on the finish line. With a _bang! _his chariot hit ours. I was knocked off from the force. Both of the chariots fell apart. Perseus's chariot fell on me, crushing my arm and part of my chest.

It was painful, excruciatingly so, and I heard the bone in my arm crack. I groaned in pain. I lay back, pinned under the chariot. It was much worse than the time my shoulder got sliced open by the snake lady.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Nico jump off the splintered remains of the bone chariot. He ran over to me, and saw that I was trapped.

With a grunt, he pulled off most of the broken chariot. He hissed when he saw my arm. I craned my neck. I moaned at the sight. A broken piece of bone had come out of the skin. It was horrible, but strangely fascinating.

"Min, I've never done this before, but I'm going to try and heal you. Please stay still." Nico was frowning and looking worriedly at my arm. "I think two ribs are gone, maybe more."

Solstice fell down, in a faint. Nico must have taken his life force to help him. He laid his hands on my arm. I flinched.

Power rushed through me. It was dizzying, and made me nauseous. It felt like holding your breath and hyperventilating right after. My head was swimming, and I felt distant from my body.

The only other time I had felt like this was when I broke my leg falling off a horse when I was ten years old. I had gone to the hospital, and I was given a lot of painkiller. I had called the nurse a slut, because I couldn't hold my thoughts. You couldn't really think and talk at the same time when you were on drugs.

So I spoke my mind.

"Aah…that hurts like hell. What happened to Solstice? And did we win? My arm feels funny….

"Nico, you're my best friend. I don't know what I could do without you. Nico, I love you."

Oops, that just slipped out. Oh well, as long as nobody else heard. Then I saw Perseus standing near me. He had been taking care of his horses, making sure they were all right after the chariot crash. And he had heard every word.

Nico looked uncomfortable. "Ah, okay, Min. Let's see how many ribs you've broken…" He trailed off.

Nico put pressure on my arm. With a crack, the bone slipped back into my arm. I felt like throwing up.

Then he pulled off my breast plate. He cut open the tank top I wore underneath. He clucked his tongue.

Nico laid his hand on my chest, and I was feeling awkward too. It was not from the healing or power rushing through me.

I felt the tingling from the bones knitting together. It made me feel like throwing up. I closed my eyes and tried to ignore what was happening.

I think Solstice's power was running out, because I felt Nico's thoughts and memories rushing into me. I don't think Nico even noticed that he was running on his own juice, because he was so absorbed in the healing.

Sweat stood up in beads on his forehead, sliding down his temples. His teeth were clenched with the effort of maintaining a steady power flow.

Idly, I went through his memories. There weren't much of them, but I was getting more and more.

Nico bowing to his father's throne in the Underworld.

Nico and his sister the day Perseus found them at the military school.

Nico and me at lunch, eating sandwiches and laughing at the pregnant cheerleader.

Nico, lying on his bed, thinking of me in New York, and my possible marriage to Jonathan….

It went on and on and on. A few minutes that felt like hours. It sounded so cliché, the way I thought of it.

Nico had missed me when I left. Nico shocked when I was hurt by the snake woman. He only wanted to hide the truth because he cared. And I was so selfish and cruel and nosy.

I blacked out.

Author's Note: Yeah, I hope nothing comes of this chapter….yeah, you're all expecting something good.

They're going to feel awkward later, I can tell.


	10. Grapes

So, Min said she loved Nico. Dang, that came out from the keyboard on accident. Percy has a vendetta with Nico…Let's see more of that.

**Chapter 10**

**Grapes, Vines, and Leaves**

I woke up in a bed. My hands traced the pattern on the cover. It was a lattice of grape vines. I looked around. The curtains on the walls matched the bed's cover. The wall paper was a tasteful print of grave vines, leaves, and grapes. The bedside table had a bowl filled with round, purple grapes. A small bouquet of flowers lay next to the bowl. This must be the Big House. I wondered who the flowers were from.

I pulled my arm from the blankets. There was a small, white pucker hole where the bone had protruded from the skin. I pushed the blankets away, and got out.

I pushed my shirt up. I had bruising on my chest, from the broken ribs. All in all, I felt okay. My arm was sore, and it wasn't too hard to breathe.

I couldn't hear anything from outside, so I opened the door, cautious. I walked down the halls. The house was artfully furnished. The chairs were upholstered in grape vine prints, and had grapes and leaves carved into the backs.

The owner of the house, Dionysus, had an obsession with grapes. It was quite obvious.

I saw a bar of light. It came from under a pair of large oak double doors. The handles were bronze grape vines, curled slightly.

I could hear talking, loud and angry. I peeked through the key hole. There was a large round conference table. Dionysus sat at the head, fiddling with the top of a can of Diet Coke. Chiron was at his right, looking troubled.

I saw Perseus get up from his seat, pointing at Nico.

"He should not have come here, Mr. D. He sacrificed the lives of thousands of innocents. He should be in the West, protecting our interests!" Perseus's face was red. Annabeth's arm on his restrained him. She whispered in his ear, convincing him not to be stupid.

Nico was leaning back in his chair, looking relaxed. "On the contrary, dear cousin, only one hundred lives have been taken. And if you think that the mortals will notice, I was discreet. One hundred lives from across the globe should not be missed."

"Just give me the reinforcements, and all will be well. It's better to take the offense with the element of surprise, than be on the defense unwary, isn't it Jackson? It's to be war, and there's nothing you can do about it. The enemy's army has been building for years.

"You think you've defeated them, haven't you, beloved cousin? When you were sixteen, you thought you cut the head right off the snake. But you were wrong. What you did was just part of the plan. The snake isn't just a regular mortal snake. It's a wily, cunning, immortal hydra. You have to _cut every single head off_ and burn the stumps.

"Olympus can still be defeated. Kronos can rise again. You only set him back for a decade at the most. _And eight years have passed_. Two years to prepare – can you do it? You can't raise much of an army. Your Cyclopes have been working all year, slaving away over their forges. And only fifty demigods have been found over the eight years.

"You will lose, if you do not prepare. Extreme situations mean extreme defenses. But I'm helping you at everybody's benefit but my own. I am safe, but the question is, dearest cousin, are you?"

Perseus was curious. "How do you know all this? You were twelve years old when the prophecy came true."

Nico smiled. It wasn't a very nice smile, it was vicious and cruel. "I am the son of Hades. I should know what happens in my domain. And twelve years old? Hardly. Bianca and I lived on the street before we ended up in the Lotus Casino. I'm actually older than you, cousin. _I'm eighty three years old_."

I reeled back from the key hole. I lost my balance, grabbing the leg of a small decorative table next to the door. The vase, filled with dried grape vines, wobbled. _Please_, I prayed, _don't fall_.

_Crash! _Damn it, I thought silently. I began to pick up the pieces, to hide them. Hopefully no one heard it fall.

Nico frowned. "Excuse me, but there's somebody out there. I heard something crash. We wouldn't want others to listen, would we?" I heard the scrape of a chair being pushed back.

I left the fragments of the vase, and got to my feet. I started to run down the hallway, back to my room.

I felt a tug on the back of my shirt. Someone's hands grabbed my hands, forcing them together like a police officer.

"Min!" I felt Nico's breath on the back of my neck. "What are you doing here? I have no choice but to bring you to the meeting. You've heard too much, and we can't let you just tell everyone this, uh, valuable information." He pushed me into the direction of the conference room.

"Nico," I snarled. "You've been lying to me for years. You-"

Nico gave a hard push, and I was propelled into the conference room. The door slammed. "Here's our intruder." To me he hissed, "_Sit down_."

So I sat next to Nico. Perseus was angry, and his fists were clenched, the veins showing visibly.

The whole room was filled with tension. It was almost palpable.

"So this is what it's all about, isn't it?" Perseus stood, jabbing his finger at me. "Nico and his little girlfriend.

"That's the reason D'Angelo left Los Angeles. I saw you yesterday, at the track. '_I love you_' you said, Harmand." Perseus started poking me in the stomach. I flinched, because it was bruised from the chariot crash.

"Are you to stoop so low as that, cousin, that you torment a poor mortal?" Nico grabbed Perseus's hand, and twisted it, until he winced. Not a cry of pain escaped Perseus. "Minerva Harmand is my best friend. Have you ever seen me hurt your little Annabeth?"

Annabeth cringed, her hands scrabbling through her hair. She clutched her scalp, a whimper on her lips.

"ENOUGH!" Chiron thundered. "This is not the time for petty family disputes. Take your quarrels to another place and time. Now let's get back to business."

So I just played idly with a pen and a yellow legal pad on the table. I took no part in the discussion.

After hours, Nico tapped me on the shoulder, and whispered into my ear. "The meeting's over. It's lunch time." He ignored Perseus's evil glare.

I walked to the pavilion with Nico. "I got flowers. Do you know who sent them?"

Nico looked confused. "Most flowers have a card or something. And it wasn't me."

"Oh. I looked for a card, but there wasn't one. What kind of loser sends flowers without a card?"

"Maybe a secret admirer", Nico said, a smile playing across his lips.

I hoped it wasn't Nico.

So we had lunch together: lobster tails with butter, fresh rolls.

Nico spoke to his cup, which filled at his command.

"How do you do that?" I asked, curious. I wondered how that happened.

Nico grinned. "Just speak the name of the drink you want, non alcoholic of course, since we're underage."

"Hmm…" I mused. "How about…Diabolo menthe!" The cup filled, and I clapped my hands, like an autistic kid at the circus.

**Author's Note: Yeah, it's Spring Break now, so YAY!!!!!!**

**I don't do subliminal ads, so I'm going to go blatant. Read my other Percy Jackson and the Olympians fic.**

**Review on this, because I'm going to start writing chapters and keeping them back.**

**I want to write another Percy Jackson story.**

**Romance is confusing and weird to write about.**

**Plus, I'm not that good at cliff hangers.**


	11. Trickster's Tricks

**Wait a sec, Nico is 83!?**

**Chapter 11**

So-o. Nico was eighty three, practically a senior citizen. I needed some time to think it over, to accept it. And I had always thought Nico was seventeen. He had always pointed out that he was a few months older than me. And now I knew it was a couple of decades.

So I went to the stables and saddled Oxide. I rode him halfway down the track before I decided to fly. I loved the exhilarating rush of wind through my hair, the thrill that I wouldn't get caught if I fell. There were no firm assurances; the risk and danger involved made me shout out loud.

After I finished riding, I led Oxide back to the stables, rubbing him down. I went to fetch a bucket of water for him to drink. When I came back, there was boy, about nineteen, who was patting Oxide's nose. He held the bridle from another horse, a paint.

"Nice horse." He said, with a friendly grin. "Very nicely bred, I might say."

"Uh, hey…I'm Min." I introduced myself. I think I recognized him. He was from the meeting…I couldn't recall his name, though.

"I'm Connor, you know, that driver from the chariot with the itching powder?" He had an upturned nose. "You are a pretty good driver. But your fighter is pretty talented."

"Yeah, I think I remember you. You have that brother, Travis." I was feeling more relaxed.

"Yep, they say we're two peas from the same pod, though I don't see that." He had warm brown eyes. "This is Jester. He's not high strung, a nice temperament. Like a gelding, but not."

I ran my eyes over Jester appraisingly. Jester had brown splotches over his white coat. He looked very strong, if not the fastest in the stable.

So Connor and I had lunch together, talking about horses and chariots and Camp Half Blood.

He laughed when I told him about dressage.

"You mean you were forced to ride sidesaddle while wearing a dress?!" He slapped his thighs, guffawing.

I grinned. "My father said that I'd have to, if he was going to buy me a horse." I remembered my horse, Aure, a palomino stallion that I had left at the riding stables in Los Angeles. I missed him.

"Wow. I can't really imagine it. But I can see a black dress…" He started laughing until he began choking. 

"Yeah, that side saddle was annoying. If you tried to sit normally, you'd slide right off." My memories of dressage were so boring.

"Min, so…are you and D'Angelo, you know?" Connor made a swirling motion with his finger. "Dating? Because he's looking pretty angry right now."

"Me…and Nico? No way! He's like my big brother, my best friend. He's probably angry because he has to sit by himself with Perseus." I smiled. "So, what's with this vendetta between him and Perseus?"

"So, that means you're free for dinner?"

"Uh, I will if you tell me." I was going to make the best of the situation.

Connor's eyes lit up. "Good. About the vendetta…Nico didn't tell you?"

"No…He never tells me much unless I threaten him. And when he does, he leaves a lot of big gaps, which, technically, isn't lying." I remembered all the lame excuses and ridiculous lies.

"Well…when Nico was nine or ten, he asked Percy to take care of his sister Bianca. Bianca had joined the Hunters of Artemis, and he never forgave her, but he still loved her. Percy, Bianca, Annabeth, Thalia – they all went on a quest. Bianca was killed.

"Nico has never let it go. He doesn't mention it anymore, but he still hates Percy and wants revenge. It was sad; the little kid who'd lost his big sister who took care of him."

"That's so sad…and Nico never, ever told me." It was heartbreaking. "Who's Thalia?"

"Thalia?" Connor seemed surprised. "She's Zeus's daughter, who came to Camp Half Blood with Luke and Annabeth. They fought off monsters on the hill. She died defending them, her last stand. Luke and Annabeth got safely to the camp, and Zeus turned her into the pine tree.

"She's joined the Hunters to escape the prophecy, but she and Luke…they had something. But he betrayed her and Annabeth."

"Luke, I think I heard something about him." I vaguely remembered, chatter at dinner… "I heard that he's your half-brother."

Connor winced. "He _was_ our half-brother, not now. Not after what he's done. Sure, father ignores us most of the time, unless he wants something from us. But we don't hate him, at least, not like him.

"He used to be good, the best sword fighter before Percy and Nico. But his anger…it has twisted him. He's beyond saving, even Thalia knew that, and she loved him." Connor seemed regretful at this.

"You people, half bloods, don't seem to trust him. He lies a lot, but he's always nice to me." I wanted to know. A lot of the half bloods avoided him.

"Nico, he's a mystery. He's old…a lot older than all of us. And he helps us without helping himself. There's got to be a reason, but none of us have figured it out. And he's Hades' son. He's slippery, him." Connor was reluctant to talk about him. "Plus, he's got all that power. I've seen him, draining Percy, Annabeth, and the monsters. No one can stop him except for his father…and maybe you." He said the last bit so quietly I could barely hear him.

I was a bit worried by that. Was I his weakness? "So, all half bloods have a magic power, don't they?"

Connor was relieved by the change of subject. The mood lightened a bit. "Sure, some of us have it bigger than others."

"What do you have, then?" I asked, interested.

"Chops, uh, magicians' skills," he said, with pride. "I can steal anything, fool the eye. I'm good at illusions."

He waved his hand six inches over my plate, fast as a blur. "Here," he said, showing me the sprig of garnish that had lain on my plate a second ago.

"Wow! That's amazing!" I had seen magic shows, but none as good as this. "What about illusions?"

"I'm glad you asked," Connor grinned, showing off his slightly pointed incisors. "Open your eyes; see."

And I saw. The pavilion had been transformed. Flowered vines twined around the columns. The wooden floor had changed to a chessboard patterned marble: alternating squares of black and white.

Connor wore a mask; a red fox grinned at me. He wore a tuxedo, and I saw everyone, including myself, were fancy clothes, as if for a masquerade ball.

I wore a black dress, up to my feet. It brushed the floor when I moved my feet. All the lights had dimmed, and there were colored spot lights arranged artfully around the room.

I blinked, and the illusion disappeared.

"Wow. It seemed so real…I could see it, feel it, touch it." I was astounded by his magical skills.

"Yeah, it's not as awesome as _his, _but it'll do. It fools the mind and body, and it's handy if it comes to a fight." Connor was proud of his magic.

"Do you have limitations to the illusions?" I asked.

Connor frowned. "Every gift has a catch, a weakness. It's harder to make an illusion from far away, and the more detail, the more power it drains. I have to keep on feeding power to it. If the power runs out, either I'm dead, or the illusion fades away. A lot of practice means I can hold the illusion longer with less power. The concentration to do it needs a lot of practicing to get to."

Hmm…I thought. It sounds a lot like Nico's power.

"Well, thanks for lunch, Connor. I'll see you at dinner."

I got up and walked out, thinking furiously. But I wasn't too absorbed by my thoughts to notice two pairs of eyes burning into my back.

**Author's Note: Yeah, I couldn't resist. And who sent the flowers? I just **_**had **_**to put that in there. **

**So what will happen at dinner? And if you're not a fan, I'll just tell you that Connor is Connor Stoll, who is brother of Travis Stoll.**

**And Nico's old, old, old. The Lotus Casino just messes things up. :(**

**You see that Nico and Min aren't the nicest people. I hate Mary Sues. :K**

**That was 3 chapters for this story I wrote today, as well as 2 other separate stories: **_**Jesus**_** and **_**Weight**_


	12. Civilized Dinner

**It's a wonderful day in the neighbor hood!**

**Won't you be, won't you be my neighbor?**

This is foreshadowing.

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha**. :K**

**Chapter 12**

**Civilized Dinner… Not really**

When the sun began to set and the silver peal of the dinner bells rang, I walked to the pavilion. I took the plate of food offered by the serving nymphs and sat at Poseidon's table opposite Nico and Perseus.

"I don't see why you spend time with that thief," Nico said, a bit rudely.

"Shut up," I replied. I wasn't in the mood for that. So I just got up and joined Connor at Hermes's table.

Hermes's table had the most people and was the rowdiest, noisier even than Ares. There were many people who had not been claimed by the Olympian parents. But everyone had a good time and laughed a lot.

"So, Min, you want to go outside?" Connor asked. "It's a bit crowded at the table."

"Sure, why not?" I wanted some privacy, where there weren't any nosy eyes.

Connor led me to the pier, at the edge of the Camp's lake. "There are Nereids in there; you probably can't see them now." He said. He waved his hands, and globes of light ignited on his fingertips and flew through the air, hovering above us.

We sat at the edge of the pier, our feet trailing in the water, full plates in our laps.

Connor fiddled with something in his hand. "Here, Min, this is something I got for you...I thought you would like it."

His hands tied a golden chain around my wrist. It was a bracelet, jingling in the wind. Sparkling, miniature gold drachmas dangled from the links. It was beautiful.

"You know what?" Connor asked, languidly throwing pieces of bread into the water for the ducks. "A while ago, I hated my father."

"Why?" I hated my father sometimes, too.

"I hated that he loved mortals. He had messed up children: we have dyslexia, ADHD…we can't function normally, and we can't live life normally. We are chased by monsters every where we go, and a lot of us don't make it past puberty."

"Well, maybe he should think about the kids…" I commented.

"Yes, he should. But it never occurred to me that he might actually love the mortals…a love so strong that it could withstand anything – even monsters.

"I sort of know how he feels now, Min. Because I've met you." He smiled sadly. "But you can leave, if you want. You probably don't want monsters…But you shine brighter than anyone does."

"Aww…that's so sweet of you." I hugged Connor, and he wrapped his arms around me. I leaned my head against his shoulder.

Suddenly, Connor's head flew up. He tensed, looking around.

"What's wrong?" I was afraid of monsters. I was afraid of pain, more that I cared to admit.

Connor stood up. I did too. I wanted to be ready if a monster jumped out of the bushes.

"D'Angelo, I know you're there. There's no need to hide anymore. She knows you're there." Connor faced the trees, his voice loud.

I was confused. What was Nico doing, hiding? Was he spying?

And then I saw a cloaked figure in the oak tree in Connor's direction. The figure jumped down, bending his knees fluidly on impact. The person was wearing a black cloak, with a shiny silver skull as the pin.

"Nico? Is that you?" I asked. Did that mean that he had been spying, all the time I was here at camp?

"Min! I'm sorry…but it's for your own good. People like him, they can't be trusted." Nico didn't seem very apologetic.

"Hah! Just because of Luke, you can't trust me?" Connor scoffed.

"It's not just because of him," Nico snarled. "You, everyone! No one can be trusted, but you, you with your vision weaving and lying and stealing, are special. Especially so."

"How come I never noticed him, and you did?" I was sort of annoyed. I didn't know what Nico had heard.

Connor looked at me, smiling. "Nico's a sneak, but he's not as good as I am. He wears the black cloak for camouflage, and it works, especially at night. Our eyes detect motions, and if he doesn't move, he can be almost invisible.

"But I noticed that the leaves rustled, against the breeze. I thought it would be him, and I was right. He fidgeted when I told you that you shined bright. That's when I was sure."

Nico growled. "He doesn't care about you Min. He wants information. He's probably a spy for his father, or Olympus. Don't listen to him!"

"Can you prove that, goth boy?" Connor's eye brows were raised; he was expectant.

"Yes, I can." Nico was fuming. He unpinned the skull, and his black cloak fluttered to the ground. He pulled off his shirt, and turned around.

I gasped. Because there, against the pale skin of his back, were four parallel marks.

They were about half an inch wide and silvery colored. They were raised from the skin, and they looked painful.

"That's from a lycanthrope on Palm Grove. I took it down when I was fifteen." Nico was sneered. "I wasn't ready, and it hurt, hurt bad."

"A werewolf," I murmured. "And Palm Grove is only a block away from my house."

"Yeah, it had been stalking your for a week or so before I tracked it down and killed it. It had been planning to take _you _down the day after I killed it. So you owe me your life." Nico was smug. "I doubt Master Thief here would do the same."

"Yes I would!" Connor was outraged.

"I wouldn't be so sure. Your kind can lie and sneak, but they can't take down a full grown werewolf."

"You know what? You guys are such jerks. Especially you, Nico." I was furious. This dinner, which I thought would be a good meal and conversation turned out to be fights and messed up people. "You demigods can be so full of yourself." I stomped off, in a huff.

--

I ran to the camp in the woods, packing everything I had into a fluorescent orange duffel bag. Nico had bought it from the camp store.

I stuffed everything quickly into the bag, forcing the zipper closed. I swore when it got stuck on some clothes.

"Min…you're leaving…" Nico was standing at the flap of the tent. 

"Yeah, and it's about time. I'm sick of the fighting, sick of getting hurt, sick of everything." My lips were pursed, my hands fumbling at the bag's zipper.

"You want help?" Nico's arms were crossed, standing in my way.

"No, I don't. Not from you, not from anybody. You demigods are so pushy. Your lives are messed up. No wonder you people turn out the way the do." My hair was falling messily over my face, irritating me even further. I think a distant part of my mind was screaming that I was being rash, being stupid. I ignored it.

"Hard times make us this way."

"Well good riddance to you and your kind." I pushed past him.

Nico grabbed my elbow. "You don't know what you're saying, Min. Why don't we talk this over?"

I shoved him. "You always lie. And get over your sister. She's dead and there's nothing you can do about it. I don't see why you have to be so _rude_ to Percy."

Nico let me go, like he had been bitten by a venomous snake. He turned and strode off, leaving me alone, clutching the duffel bag.

So I left Camp Half Blood. My memories of the beautiful place were tainted with anger and hate.

So I caught a plane to Fiji. I wanted a tropical atmosphere, so I paid with a credit card.

**Author's Note(s): So, what did you think?**

**It's pretty messed up, isn't it? Fiji! Or should it be Tahiti? It's too late to change it right now, though. **

**If you're smart, you can figure out that when Connor called Min "bright" is a line from "Brighter" by Paramore. **

**Heheheh. I should put some lyrics in subliminally to get you readers to listen to the songs. **

**I'm evil like that. Bet you weren't expecting that fight, were you? I love surprises.**


	13. Island Breeze

**Reader: Fiji? That's so random! **

**Me: Shut up, I know what I'm doing here.**

**Chapter 13**

In Fiji, I checked myself in at a resort, paid with an "emergency situations" credit card that my father had given me. I knew it was inevitable that someone would find me, so I thought I should just enjoy and the sun.

I went to the resort's store and bought a bikini. It was black, and the most decent one I could find. I wanted to blend in with all the vacationers, hopefully making me harder to find.

I walked to the hotel pool, carrying a towel with me. On the way down, I noticed a fountain.

I looked closer. It seemed to be a merman, with a big marble beard, carrying a trident. He was sitting on a cloud, with a finger pointing at a bunch of marble lumps in the water. I bent closer. The marble lumps were the Pacific Islands.

I got a deck chair under an umbrella. I put on my sunglasses, hoping that no one would recognize me.

But then I noticed a hairy bear man, walking around, asking people questions. People shook their heads, until I saw someone point at me.

I ran. Jumping behind decorative bushes, I hid. I waited twenty minutes, until the bear man left.

Then I walked, looking as inconspicuous as I could, back to my resort room. I locked the door, leaning against it, breathing hard.

There was a knock on the door. I whirled around, scared. I knew that if I didn't open the door, the person outside would break the door down. And if I opened it, I would be kidnapped, or worse.

So I peeked through the little circle window thing on the door. It was the bear man. And he was getting ready to beat the door down.

I could have barricaded myself in the bathroom, but that was really dumb. I remembered Jurassic Park, that movie, when the tyrannosaurus ate the lawyer.

Opening the minibar, I stuffed myself with chocolates, hoping for the sugar rush.

I threw open the balcony doors, then I started the climb down the railing, jumping down to the next balcony a floor down.

But then I landed on the railing a floor down, there was a spider woman. She had eight arms, and black, shiny eyes. I screamed, and almost lost my balance.

She hissed, a bloodcurdling, creepy shriek, and threads from her spinnerets flew into my face. With one hand, I tried to claw them off, but they were melting, dissolving through my skin.

So I crawled. I kept on crawling down the balconies, realizing that I was drawing attention. A large crowd was on the ground, staring up at the crazy girl who was climbing down the balconies.

On the second floor balcony, I discovered that the ground was about twelve feet from the bottom of the balcony. And that meant I had to jump at least five feet. My shoulders screamed, and I hoped I didn't twist my ankle when I landed.

So I let go.

I fell, and I didn't land of my face. There was a grunt, and I turned my head. My eyes widened. It was Nico, and he had caught me.

"Min! There are monsters everywhere! Connor and I came, but we have to run." He took off, with me in his arms.

"Let me run! I'm not a delicate little doll!" I cried, banging my fists on his shoulders.

"You have no shoes, and where we're going, you'll be needing shoes." Nico's voice contained no emotion.

Nico dumped me on the ground. I got up, feeling dizzy and tired. "Here, follow me," he commanded.

I followed him, through prickly grass and sharp rocks. I wish I had some shoes. My feet were getting black, and it reminded me of the run from New York. And I was wearing a bikini, which I thought was a lot worse than a dress.

Nico stopped at a manhole. He pulled it up.

"Wait. You're not expecting me to go in there-"

Nico gave me a push, and I fell. There were some rungs in the hole, and I clung to them. Nico was crouched over the opening. "The bottom rung's missing, and it's pretty dirty in there. I'll be in right after you."

I climbed down the rusty metal rungs, hoping I my tetanus injections were still working. Nico came in right after me, and I had to go as fast as I can, or my hands would be stepped on.

I wasn't very physically fit, and it annoyed me that Nico was. And I was still barefoot, wading in sewage.

Nico started jogging, which was easy for him. He wore pants, and I wore barely anything.

"The pipes start branching, and you'll have to be careful. I think there are some rats down here."

Well, that just made my day. I sighed, and followed him. I tried to make a note of which tunnels he used, but after the fifth left turn, I gave up.

We stopped at a door. Nico put his shoulder against it, gave it a shove, and it opened up.

"This'll be your home for the night. It's not safe outside.." Nico gestured.

It was a room with pipes all over the ceiling and walls: plastic, metal, duct tape covered. Connor was sitting in a corner, with a pile of towels.

"Min! Here's a towel!" Connor threw one at me. I grabbed it, and started wiping my legs, hoping that the smell wouldn't stick.

I laid a pile of towels on the floor. I wasn't going to sit down on a dirty, dusty, underground hide out.

Nico and Connor were whispering. I heard snatches of their conversation.

"Did you see the waves? I think…..The old sea gods…changed…joined Kronos…"

I went to sleep.

When I woke up, Nico was gone. It was just Connor and me.

"Where's Nico?" I asked.

"He's calling for reinforcements. But we're not sure we can get them in time. Nico went shopping for you." Connor threw a back pack at me. I

I opened it. It was stuffed with shirts, pants, and shoes. All black. It was Nico's morbid style of clothing. "What happened to my own stuff?"

"Nico went beck to the hotel to get it, but your room was trashed. The sofa looked like a giant kitty used it for a scratching post. All your stuff was shredded. So Nico went to get some more."

"Um..I'm going to change now, so I'd appreciate it if you didn't look". So I put on my clothes, making sure that Connor wasn't watching.

After I changed into a black tee shirt with a silver skull and black jeans, I looked around the room. "Where is this place?"

Connor shrugged. "It's some place that Nico found. I think it's under the fountain."

"You mean the Poseidon over the Pacific Islands thing?" I had noticed the constant rush and dripping. It irked me.

"Actually, it's Neptune. At least that's what the plaque says."

"So, I walked through the sewers half naked, when there was a hatch right in the fountain?!" I was angry. I had seen the hatch earlier.

"You couldn't have used it. The water would rush in and this hiding place would be public."

The door slammed. Nico walked in, a scowl on his face. "They'll be here in eight hours, which isn't enough. But Percy's got a ship, and we'll see how quick he can get here in a hurricane."

"The prophecy…will it include him?" Asked Connor.

"Not sure, but-"

"Wait, what prophecy?" I was accustomed to being left out of conversations.

Nico frowned. "I hope I can remember it right, but it goes like this:

"_When the sea is rumbling, roiling,_

_Will the half bloods save the day?_

_And the lava is bubbling, boiling,_

_Not even the gods can say_."

"That means that not even the Oracle of Delphi knows what's going to happen. And that means a whole big mess." Added Connor.

**Author's Note(s): Hahah! Fiji! If I could choose a random place and get it to fit in with the plot, then I'm a genius. And poo to all of you who thought I couldn't do it. And I think I'm getting to the end of this story. :(**

**Haha! What was the spider lady doing? I'll have to add more, later.**

**I'm am messed up, la la la la. No subliminal messages, this time. D: That's sad.**


	14. Throwing Up on the Side of the Road

What's with the spider lady?

So, we're nearing the end now.

What's going to happen? Read on to find out!

**Chapter 14**

**Stolen Jeep Ride**

Connor, Nico, and I were sitting in the room under the fountain. The whispering rush of the fountain water was audible.

"So, how long do you think we have before the monsters find us?" I asked.

"In a couple of minutes, we'll have to leave. I can smell monsters." Nico looked up, at the maze of pipes on the ceiling. "We won't have enough time to use the sewers, so we'll have to use the hatch. Don't worry, I have it all planned out…mostly."

After a few minutes, of just sitting on the piles of towels, Nico stood up. "It's time to go, guys."

He and Connor fiddled with the hatch on the ceiling. There was a creak, and water came rushing in, soaking the towels and my feet.

Connor gestured at me. "Here, Min, I'm going to give you a boost up, since, uh, you're kind of short…" He laced his fingers together, and I put my foot into his hands. He pushed his hands up, and I grabbed the pipes, dragging myself outside.

Kids were screaming at the black clad girl and two boys who had emerged from the fountain, dripping wet. I noticed two bear men running towards us. The vacationers didn't seem to notice anything out of the ordinary.

We started running. I didn't know where we were going, so I just followed Connor and Nico. We stopped at the resort parking lot.

"So, what are we doing now?" I panted, my hands on my knees. I was gasping for breath. It irritated me that neither Nico nor Connor was the slightest bit tired.

"Uh, Min, we're just going to get a car…" Connor looked sheepish. He started looking around, and Nico and I followed him. He stopped at a Jeep.

Connor fumbled in his pocket until he found his wallet. Taking a key ring full of bent paper clips, he started to flip through them. Choosing one that fit his standards, he inserted it into the lock of the car. He fiddled around with it, until we heard a pop.

"Here's our ride." Connor looked smug.

"So, you're stealing it?" I was against stealing, because I wouldn't want it to happen to me. "Aren't you going to hot wire it?"

Connor opened the driver's side door, and started to unlock all of the others. "There's no time to hot wire, so I'll have to do it the messy way. Oh, and by the way, Nico, I'm driving."

Nico and I got into the back seat. Connor sat in the driver's seat. He pulled a knife from somewhere, and flicked it open. It was a small, thin blade. Connor stuck the blade into the key hole next to the wheel and flicked his wrist. The car beeped.

"So, Nico, where exactly do you want me to drive?" Connor stared at Nico from the mirror.

"We're going to the docks. Perseus is here." Nico looked a bit worried, because the sky outside was rapidly turning grey. Thunder rumbled ominously, and lightning streaked the sky.

After a few minutes' driving, Connor pulled up at the docks. Then I saw the ship, which I immediately assumed was Perseus's.

It was an old fashioned wooden sailing ship, named Queen Anne's Revenge. There was a crowd of tourists surrounding it, probably thinking that it was some hotel's publicity stunt. People were taking pictures of themselves in front of it.

"Percy's being a bit conspicuous, isn't he," remarked Connor.

Nico laughed hoarsely. "Perseus is a show off."

It had started to rain, and I saw three figures make their way towards us. It was Perseus, Annabeth, and some kind of half goat, half man – a satyr.

Perseus knocked on the window of the Jeep, and let himself in. Annabeth and the satyr got into the back seat with Nico and me. I was squashed into the window, but I was glad I wasn't next to the satyr. His wet fur smelled _awful_.

Nico coughed. "Min, this is Grover. Perseus seems to like him, so we'll have to put up with him." The smell was really stifling.

"So, where are we going?" asked Grover, looking as if he didn't realize he was causing the stink.

"To the volcano." Nico replied, looking out the window.

"Volcano…." Grover complained. "Percy, you didn't tell me there was a volcano!"

"You wouldn't have come if I said." Perseus muttered, looking down. Strangely, I could tell he was against lying.

We drove through the rain, and I was feeling strangely dizzy and nauseous. "Nico," I whispered, "I think I'm going to throw up."

Nico gestured to Connor, and he pulled over to the side of the road. I got out, my legs feeling weak, and threw up. Nico handed me a tissue.

"Min, what's wrong with you?" Nico looked concerned. "It's not normal to throw up for no reason."

We were getting back to the car, and Annabeth looked at me with an eyebrow raised. I shook my head at her. She still looked interested, and mouthed the words "_tell me who_". This was weird, what she was implying.

I sat next to Nico, and the car started moving again. I started talking, a bit hesitantly at first. "When I was climbing the balcony, there was a spider lady thing. She spat spider threads at me. I tried to pull them off, but they were dissolving into my skin…"

Perseus turned around, and looked Nico in the eye. I could tell they were debating something. Nico looked at me. "That spider lady, she's a monster-"

"Arac-?" I asked. I had read stories about Athena's anger against the weaver woman.

"Shut UP!" Everyone in the car yelled, frightening me and making me jump.

"That was the Dream Weaver," Nico continued. "Don't call her _that name_, because names have power. She spelled you. You'll feel fine for about a day, then you fill sick and sleepy, then a coma, and next, you're dead."

"So I'm guessing I'm on the sick and sleepy part?" Darn, darn, darn! I was so careless….

"Yeah, but don't worry, there is a cure." Nico smiled, but it looked fake. "I'd have to force a lot of life force into you, pushing out the webs. They'd be expelled through the mouth, so that means throwing up."

"But you said that the life force had to come from somewhere…" I was trying to remember that day in the park, ages ago, it seemed. It was really about a week ago.

"Yeah, it does. But you'd need a whole lot of life force. Almost an entire life." Nico looked around. "And I don't think anyone's willing to donate that right now."

"So I'd have to go around until I fall into a coma and die?!" This was getting worse and worse. Why was I the one who got hurt? First the snake lady, then the chariot crash, and now_ this_.

"There's nothing we can do about it, except wait." Nico was angry. "If I had known about it earlier, I could have stolen the life from one of the idiotic tourists."

"Nico!" Perseus fumed, "You can't just take a life when ever you want!"

"Sure, I can, Jackson." Nico smiled grimly. "I don't have any moral qualms about it. I don't see why you should."

Annabeth hissed, "Shut up, everyone! Min is going to die-"

"Thanks a lot, Annabeth."

"Sorry, but what I'm trying to say is: Stop being so stupid. This is serious, not a sort of macho banter contest." Annabeth frowned, thinking hard. "What we have to do is look out for a life that Nico can take. Percy, don't look at me like that."

"Fine," said Perseus, looking out the window at the wind. It was so strong that the palm trees were bending. Some of the fronds fell out and blew across the ground. "It's going to be a big storm. I hope we beat Kronos."

**Author's Note(s) – Ha ha! Min is sick!**

**Thanks to all my readers. Thanks for reviewing, Jelly. What will happen next? It's going to be a fight in the volcano. And Chiron and the other campers – will they get to Fiji in time? **

**I'm debating at which ending to use. I can't decide which character to kill off – should it be all of them? **

**I'm (hopefully) going to use a line from the graphic novel **_**Pride of Baghdad**_**, which goes:**

**Dying bear: My spine is in two…end me…please…**

**So call me morbid, call me emo. I call myself an author.**

**Should I go to the extreme and hold back chapters until you review?! I have the next chapter already...**

**Here's a little taste of what's going to happen:**

_"Min, I'm sorry I dragged you into this. Chiron's probably not going to be here in time, and there will be casualties." Nico said this, with a sad smile on his face. Then he leaned forward, his lips brushing mine softly._


	15. Hiking

**Min's still sick…**

**The battle of the volcano is nearing.**

**Min and Nico talk about death.**

**Chapter 15**

**Tell the Truth**

We drove up the steep winding, road to the top of the volcano. Every now and then, the earth would shake a bit. Adding the stormy weather that was brewing, it seemed like a perfect scary scene for a movie.

About three fourths up the volcano, the road stopped. Connor turned around, saying, "I guess we have to hike up from here. Take all your stuff; hopefully Chiron will be here in time."

Connor and Perseus unloaded the trunk of the Jeep. Soon Annabeth and Grover got out to help. So it was just Nico and me in the backseat.

"Min, I'm sorry I dragged you into this. Chiron's probably not going to be here in time, and there will be casualties." Nico said this, with a sad smile on his face. Then he leaned forward, his lips brushing mine softly.

"Nico…you kissed me!" I was really surprised, because Nico had never done this before.

"No I didn't."

"Uh, yes you did."

"Okay, I did," Nico admitted, blushing. "I just wanted to know what it felt like, before one or both of us die and it's too late."

There was a tap on the window. Perseus was there, waving his hands.

"I guess we have to go now." I said, opening the door and sliding off the seat. Nico came out after me, looking at the sky worriedly.

So we hiked up the trail, Nico and I lagging behind. The thunder rumbled, and the grasses stirred, anticipating a storm.

"Nico, what happens if I die?" I asked.

"You'll have to cross the Styx and be judged for how good you were in life. And most people are neither good nor bad, so they go to the Fields of Asphodel." Nico slipped a coin into my hand, a golden drachma. "This will pay Charon for the crossing."

"What about you, Nico?" I had always wondered what had happened to Bianca di Angelo when she died.

"I'll probably join my father in his palace. My sister lives with him, in his dark castle, waited on by dead servants." Nico shuddered; his memories were bothering him.

"So I'll just have to wait in the dark for eternity – or until the Titans take over again?" I couldn't imagine eternity of just sitting or standing and waiting for nothing.

"Min, I won't let you die. But there's always a chance." Nico looked downcast. "I'll come and get you, and maybe try to get you out. You can trust me."

Nico and I walked in silence, contemplating what would happen in the next few hours. I had hoped that Chiron and the other half bloods would come, but what Nico had said…it scared me. Would the fight on the volcano be like Thalia's last stand on Half Blood Hill? Nico had said that there would be casualties…How many would be sacrificed for the greater good?

We climbed up the sharp rocks and prickly plants. We climbed for an hour, and I was getting more tired and more exhausted by the minute. I coughed, my lungs burning from the exertion.

"Nico, I'm feeling so tired and sleepy…" It must have been the spider lady's venom. I wanted to sleep and walk at the same time, like Legolas from the Lord of the Rings.

"Min, it's not that much farther…You can keep going, can't you?" Nico was looking concerned. He took my hand, sending a pulse of energy through me. The sparse vegetation nearby shriveled. Nico must have taken the energy from them.

"I don't know…I hope so…And there's nothing I can do to help you fight. I can't shoot, use a sword, anything." I was embarrassed at being the weakest in the group.

"Just hold on, as long as you can, and everything will be all right." Nico squeezed my hand, and then muttered darkly to the sky. "At least I hope so."

We walked and walked. Connor came to talk to me. He noticed that Nico held my hand, and I think he just ignored it.

"It's like we're the hobbits going to Mordor, right?" He was trying to be cheerful. "The only thing Frodo lost was a finger. I hope we're that lucky too, Min."

"That's awesome, Connor." I was feeling sick and tired, like I was running a fever. I stopped, panting for breath. "You know, I would throw up, but I ejected everything that I've eaten." I hated to sound so bitter, but I hoped that someone had some food.

"Oh, sorry, Min." Connor took off his back pack, rifling through the pockets. He brought out two granola bars and handed them to me.

I ripped off the plastic wrapper and began to chew, glad that I at least had some energy. "What will you eat, if you give all your food away to me?"

"We half bloods can live off ambrosia and nectar for a few days. Grover can eat any plant, and stuff like that granola bar wrapper or tin cans." Connor walked next to me, his legs sure and steady compared to my trembling ones.

"Min, you look so pale. Are you holding out okay?" Connor asked, noting that I had gotten thin and I looked so exhausted.

"As well as I can, with this curse on me." I laughed, a hoarse laugh that didn't sound natural. "I wish I was better, but there's not much you could do about it."

"Okay, Min. I'm sorry." Connor left, jogging to keep up with Perseus and Annabeth.

"You're running out of time," Nico commented. "Sorry to be so blunt, but it's the truth. And you're getting tired and sleepy. Don't forget, the coma's next, and after that, you're dead. I can try and hold it off with life force, but without enough, it'll be inevitable."

"Don't worry, Nico. Your bluntness is a breath of fresh air. It's strange; you used to lie to me all the time. I don't know why you're so…moral…today." I had noticed it. I wondered if there was a reason for his being so kind and normal-_ish_. But being normal was a stretch for him.

"You're going to die, Min. I've figured it out. You have about ten hours of life left, and I guess we're going to have to make the best of it. I'm starting by telling the truth." Nico stared unblinkingly at me. "Now you're going to have to tell the truth, too."

"What!? I'm dying, and you're making this like a game of Truth or Dare?" I laughed, but it ended with a cough.

"You first. My question is: Do you actually like Connor Stoll?" Nico looked at me, waiting expectantly for an answer.

"Of course I do! It's not like I'd hang out with someone I don't like. I'd probably say something offensive about them to their face. And I wouldn't hang out with them any more." I like Connor. He was funny, and nice. He had a great smile. "Now it's your turn, Nico. So, back when I first got to Half Blood Hill, you were staring at me and you wouldn't tell me why. What's the reason?"

Nico turned red. "Well, first of all, you were wearing a dress, which I've never seen you do. And you were wearing makeup, and that's sort of unusual to…" He trailed off, looking awkward.

"So?" I prodded him.

"Well…You looked _hot_."

"Okay, you didn't have to say that. Sorry I asked." I was feeling awkward too. But I was going to die, and it's not like there would be consequences in the far future. My future, according to Nico, would be about nine and a half hours.

"Okay, my question is: When you fell of the chariot and broke your arm and ribs, you said you loved me. Care to elaborate on that?" Gods, Nico was choosing the most embarrassing moments.

"I was being fed life force by, _ahem_, you, and I wasn't aware that I said that. It was like being fed drugs. So I had no control over what I said."

"So you don't love _me_?" Nico raised his eyebrows and used the most sickeningly sweet voice.

"Nico, shut up." I punched him on the shoulder, hard.

**Author's Note(s): This is one messed up chapter. I hope you were as disappointed as I was at the way that it turned out. Oh well, I'll make up for it. To anyone that's read **_**Inkspell**_**, by Cornelia Funke, I hope to use one of her ideas. **

**So what did you think about it? Tell the truth, like Nico and Min did. REVIEW, please! Otherwise I'll be forced to take dire action.**

**Now, which character shall DIE?!!?! insane cackling**

**Don't worry, I already know. Min asked Nico about the Underworld, and if you're not stupid, you can tell that it's foreshadowing.**

**When Nico said Min was "running out of time", that was a line from the deleted scene from **_**Rent**_**, when Mark tells Roger that Mimi's running out of time. **


	16. Assisted Suicide

What happens to Min?

Why does Nico kill Min (on purpose)?

Why am I spoiling this chapter?

**Chapter 16**

**What is Hades like?**

At nightfall, we camped under a rock ledge. Perseus started a camp fire, and I freeze dried food. The half bloods ate ambrosia and nectar; Grover ripped up the scant vegetation and swallowed it. He smacked his lips.

We pulled the collapsible sleeping bags from the back packs we all carried. I slumped into mine, thoroughly exhausted. The poison was making me sleepy. I think I was almost up to the coma stage.

The sun didn't rise in the morning. The clouds had gathered, so there was a weak, sickly light shining down through the heavy grey clouds. That wasn't a very good omen. More clouds were gathering, and it didn't look very good.

Everyone started to don their battle gear. Annabeth sharpened a bronze knife on a rock. Perseus pulled on his bronze armor, decorated with green enamel. Nico unpacked his armor. I was the only one without protection or weapons.

"Min." It was Nico, standing behind me. He held a square of black cloth. "This is for you. I have no use for it in battle, and you need it." Nico unfolded the cloth. It was his black cloak. He pulled it around my shoulders and pinned the collar with the skull brooch.

"It has the power of unnoticibility. Which means it's better that invisibility, because you can bump into stuff and people won't notice. You can't fight, so I thought it would be best if you could remain unseen."

"Nico, I can't take your cloak. You need it." I started to unpin it, but his fingers stopped me.

I can't fight with it, not with the wind that's picking up." Nico glanced at the sky, confirming his thoughts. He looked troubled. "Besides, you need it more."

We hiked the rest of the way up. Our group reached a peak on the volcano. It was flat and wide, a good battle space. But the rock crumbled easily on the edges of the plateau, so it would be dangerous to be cornered. Small rock ledges surrounded the large plateau, which helped if you fell off.

Rock clattered, and small stones tumbled down from a higher peak. We all looked up. Monsters! There were too many to count, too many coming. One after another they dropped from the higher ledges. There were a few humans sprinkled in, but they were mostly horrendous mix breeds.

There were a few hundred of the enemy, and I realized with growing horror that we would be lost: There were only six of us, and I couldn't fight, not in my weakened state.

I hid behind an outcropping of rock, drawing Nico's cloak around me. I could see Nico. He eyes were closed, his lips moving in silent prayer. About three fourths of the monsters shuddered and fell to the ground, their limbs twitching.

But there were still a lot of monsters to defeat. Grover distracted the enemies while Perseus and Annabeth slew them. Blood covered the ground.

When a monster was killed, it released a horrible shriek and a cloud of smoke. Sand swirled on the ground, from all the dead and dying monsters. I saw Nico dispatch an untrained human, possibly a half blood camper, with ease. Strangely, I noticed there was a smile on his face.

Nico and Connor were slaughtering the monsters. But I noticed a creeping man, his sword raised to Nico's back. Nico turned around, surprised. He parried the first blow, but he was off balance and on the edge of the plateau. He stumbled. The man's sword lowered for the killing blow.

I vaulted out of my hiding place behind the rocks. With a cry, I ran to him, jumping. I gave a mighty push.

We fell over the side of the plateau, the black cloak streaming out behind me. The man grabbed my arm, intending for me to be the first to hit.

There was a crunch, and we had stopped falling. The man had fallen first, had taken the full force of impact. But we had fallen fifty feet, and I was hurt too. I couldn't raise my head to look. In fact, I couldn't raise my head at all. I think I must have broken something serious; I was so much in pain that things started slipping out of focus.

I noticed things distantly; I guess I was trying to zone out the pain. The screaming from the top of the plateau had stopped.

Small rocks tumbled to the ground. I think I had landed on a ledge. There was a crunching sound near my head.

"Perseus, it's Chris Rodriguez!" Nico was standing over me, staring at my bloody body and the broken man under me.

"He must have taken over after I killed Luke," Perseus growled, kicking the body.

"Min! Min, wake up!" Nico held my hand, brushing my hair away from my face. "Min, you're not hurt bad, and you'll be okay, just open your eyes. Can you stand up?"

"Nico, she's not coming back." It was Annabeth's matter-of-fact voice. "There's no use. Let her go."

I needed to get up. I didn't want to die. It took all of my remaining strength to croak out a few last words. "Nico…my spine is in two…end me, please." I was in pain, so much agony! I would give anything to let it stop.

Nico kissed me on the forehead, so lightly I could barely feel it. "For you Min. Forgive me." His cool hands wrapped around my neck. Even his touch pained me. I groaned. His hands tightened, and I could sense that they were trembling. He whispered to my ear. "I'll come for you, Min. Don't worry."

Everything seemed farther away…I couldn't feel Nico's hands on my neck anymore. And I slipped away to blissful painlessness…

---

I ended up in a waiting room of some sort. There was a security guard's desk in the corner. He was wearing a name tag. I read it: _Charon_.

The name sounded strange in my voice. Charon looked up, and his eyes met mine.

"New souls will wait here until I feel like it. Those with money please come up and we'll see about service." His voice was bored, and his long fingernails tapped his desk.

I remembered that Nico had given me a golden coin to pay the boatman. Was this the boatman? I fumbled into my pocket, finally finding the coin. It had not been lost in the fall from the cliff, and I was glad.

The glint of gold got Charon's attention. "Miss, if you'll come this way, we can get you some service…"

He got out from behind his desk. His arm gripped my elbow, and he showed me a door that I had not noticed. "If you would just give me the worthless coin you have here, for a small fee, you see, I can get you across the Styx."

I dropped the coin to his outstretched hand, and he ushered me through the door and onto a raft bobbing in a sea of filth.

Charon kicked away other peoples' hands, muttering to himself. I could hear him. "…filthy freebooters…not enough money.."

He used a pole and guided the raft onto a misty mainland. It was dark and dreary, this place, which I assumed was Hades.

I waited in line for what seemed an eternity, but it was so hard to tell time in this place. I was shoved onto a plain, black field. There were spirits milling around me, but it was weird, because there wasn't any sound.

No one talked, footsteps didn't echo…The only things that made sounds were live monsters, like the barking, drooling dog, and the cackling Furies hovering overhead.

I just sat down on a fallen stalactite and waited…

And waited….

And waited…

I wait some more…

And some more…

Until I was so bored…

So very bored…

And sleepy…

But I couldn't fall asleep however hard I tried. So I leaned against the stalactite and closed my eyes, waiting for time to pass by.

I waited.

I waited for eternity, or for an instant…There was no way to tell. The only thing that changed was the number of souls, which increased.

And so I waited.

**Author's Note: Ha HA!! Bet you weren't expecting this. Nico kills Min?! What a shocker. Even if you read the Author's Note in the beginning.   
**

**I have it all planned out, and this story has a few more chapters before it's finished for good. For EVER. **

**I don't know whether to use a happy or a sad ending, though. But I'm going to cut it off when you least want me to. So there. **

**Happy? **

**I need more REVIEWS. Sorry if I'm being so pushy, but I have not gotten much constructive criticism.**

**Also, I used the line from **_**Pride of Baghdad**_**, which I mentioned in an earlier Author's Note, a few chapters ago. **

**Thanks for the few of the reviews I've gotten. I hope I don't need to kill another character off.**


	17. Family Reunion From Hell

**What happens to Min in Hades?**

**Will Nico come and rescue her?**

**Chapter 17**

**Family Reunion**

I waited for infinite instants, staring at the black rock ceiling or the brittle brown grass on the ground. I must have just zoned out when I heard footsteps. It wasn't normal to hear footsteps in a place like this. That meant the walker had to be a real, live creature.

But I didn't run away. What would happen to me? I couldn't die: I was already dead. And that person probably was a monster or looking for someone else. I just closed my eyes, resting my head on a chunk of fallen stalactite.

There was a crunch right near my head. The live soul had stepped on the dry, crispy grass, right next to me. My eyes flew open, and I stumbled to me feet.

"Min!" It was Nico. He was the brightest thing for miles around, being alive. Everyone else was the same, grey, muted shade.

"Nico, you're not dead...You're not supposed to be here. And how did you find me?" I gestured, waving my hands at the milling ranks of dead souls.

"I said I'd find you, didn't I, Min?" He grinned. "And you're not so hard to find. Look at you."

I wore Nico's black cloak, I knew. I looked down. The silver skull pin was shining, a dull gleam in the darkness of the cavern. "Why is the pin like that? It wasn't like that when I was alive, on the volcano."

"That's because it's been imbued with the power of life. Life always shines bright in the realms of death, and it's been an invaluable tracking device." Nico was smiling, glad to see me. "After all, I knew something like this would happen."

"WHAT?!" I screamed. "You knew, and you never thought to tell me?" I hated the monotony of death, the silence, the mist and chill. I could have been spared of this horrible place, and Nico didn't think it was important enough to tell me?

"Yes, I merely guessed. The Oracle of Delphi gave me some hints. And to be careful, I gave you my cloak. I killed you Min, to save you." Nico's voice was stony. "I wanted to tell you, even before the volcano, but it would have disrupted my plan-"

I cut him off. "So this is all a plan to you Nico? Us? This?"

Nico gripped my forearm. "Yes, it was my plan. I looked for the best one, and there were no perfect choices. You would rather have all of Western Civilization extinguished?"

"Fine. You know what? How about you go now?" I hissed, venom in my voice. I tried to stomp off in a huff. It would make me feel good.

"I'm not leaving. Do you know how hard it was to get here?" Nico counted them out on his fingers. "First, I had to carry your physical body down the volcano, smuggle it on a plane, and get you to Los Angeles. Then I had to get here, paying a hefty bribe to the boatman. And now you want me to leave, having gained nothing? I came here for you, like I said I would."

"So let's just go now, then," I snarled.

"That's not allowed. I have to get Hades to agree, because this is disturbing the natural order of things. Bringing the dead whose spirits have already gone to Hades isn't a small deal." Nico started walking, his boots crushing the dying grass.

I followed him, mulling what he had said over. Hades was his father, so that meant that I had meet him…His sister Bianca lived with his father…Well, this was going to be awkward.

---

After ages of just walking, we reached black iron gates. Skeletal warriors stood in front, their halberds at the ready.

"Speak your name and title for the record. You must wait while we confirm entrance." The guards called out, their bony hands gripping the shafts of their weapons.

"My name: Nico di Angelo, half blood, son of Hades. Her name: Minerva Harmand, mortal, deceased." Nico said, his foot tapping.

The gates creaked open, revealing a black stone medieval castle, with soldiers patrolling the battlements. Black flags emblazoned with silver skulls hung out windows and on the highest towers.

"This way," Nico was striding rapidly down the gravel driveway. Wait…that wasn't gravel. It was crushed bones.

Nico's family has morbid tastes, I thought, trying to keep up with him. I could see the guards up ahead were also skeletons, wearing black uniforms with silver skulls.

We stopped at a draw bridge over a moat, which lowered with a groan and a heavy thump. We crossed. I noticed that the animals in the moat were bony, prehistoric fish. I shuddered at their spiny teeth.

Nico and I traveled through the elegant hallways, decorated with suits of armor and rather depressing paintings. We stopped at a heavy oak door with bone handles. The door was carved in relief with violent battle scenes. It was quite graphic and realistic.

The door opened slowly of its own accord. We walked inside. There was a man, clad in a black robe. He sat, relaxing in his throne of human bones, fused together. I wondered how many people had "contributed" to make it.

Next to him, there was smaller throne, in the shaper of an opening flower. A girl, about twelve years old reclined. She had dark brown hair and olive skin, just like Nico. Her eyes widened when she saw him.

Nico nodded his head to the girl, and he bowed in front of the throne. "Father, sister, I have come here to retrieve something that…I have lost." His looked at me, then I realized that I should show respect to the Lord of the Dead, too.

So I curtseyed as well as I could, trying to remember the etiquette lessons from so long - years – ago. I had thought that I'd never have any use for them in life. But I thought to myself, a bit grimly: _I wasn't in life._

The man leaned forward in his throne. "So you have come back at last. Will it be a long stay?"

"No, my lord." Nico's head was bowed down. He had never shown real respect to grown ups before, so this was a surprise. "I came here for a little while, a mere instant in your eyes. I came here to ask you a question. Father, please grant unto me this singular boon."

"What would my son like?" Hades smiled thinly. "He has refused wealth and riches, power, immortality…What is this something that my child wants that he has traveled so far to get?"

"Father, I want to take a dead spirit from here into the world of the living." Nico's head was still lowered, so I couldn't see his facial expression. I could tell that he didn't like to beg for charity. He had hubris, too.

"You know that is not allowed, my son." Hades smiled at this. He stared down at the figure bowed on the floor before him.

"Father!" It was the girl. She must be Bianca, Nico's dead sister. "He has come so far, and he has battled the first waves of the war for Western Civilization. He has so much to go, and little happiness to see. Please, grant him his boon, on my behalf. After all, he is your son, and he has kept many of the dead from inundating your halls."

"My dearest daughter, your argument appeals to me." Hades turned his attention from Bianca to Nico. "Now who is this dead spirit that you attempt to bring back to life?"

Nico got up, and waved to me. I walked over.

"She is, my lord. She died for the cause, and I wish to see her rewarded in life." Nico held my hand.

"Son, you have other reasons. I can tell…Now tell me." Hades sat expressionless on his throne.

So he was going to make Nico tell him why he came, so far. The truth. I wanted to hear _this_.

"You demand me say it, Father. I came because…" Nico's teeth were gritted, angry. He knew that he had to say it. "_I love her_."

"You love a mortal…" Hades was silent. "But I have, too. And for my beloved son, I will make him happy. Return to life with her, but know this: When she dies, an eternal death, where will you be? I have granted your wish, against my own, knowing that you will be pained in the future. But that is what my dearest son wants, and that is what he shall get, because he holds his own future in his hands. _Be careful_."

Nico bowed, one last time, and we exited the throne room. Nico breathed a sigh of relief.

--

It turned out that my physical body was in my house. I woke up, coughing, my throat hurting. My neck was bruised, and I was covered with dust. I still wore Nico's black cloak.

Nico was lying in the bean bag chair, looking tired but pleased. "So, now you're back…"

I nodded.

"There's a glass of water on the bed side table. You should drink it before you cough your lungs out."

I imagined a person choking out red lumps. I guess that was why Nico said that. He was like that, telling me not to think of pink rhinoceroses.

**Author's Note: Min's back. And this story is ending pretty soon. Should I write a sequel? I have the characters planned out, a story called (possibly) _Tsarevitch_.**

**Well, please review, and thanks for those who have already done so.**

**And also note that I hate chat speak.**

**You may have noticed that I don't do cliff hangers, but I can do unintentional suspense. Sorry for that: The last chapter was probably killing you.**

**But I am messed up.**

**NOTE: THIS IS THE LAST CHAPTER BEFORE THE EPILOGUE. REVIEW IF YOU WANT A SEQUEL!!!**

**IF NOT, THEN IT'S NOT WORTH THE EFFORT, WRITING FOR NO ONE TO READ.**


	18. Epilogue

What happens in the end?

This is the last chapter, so review if you want a sequel.

**Chapter 18**

**The Epilogue**

In the end, life went on.

For my seventeenth birthday, Nico bought me the silver Harley Davidson motorcycle. He paid off the last five thousand dollars, bringing it to my door step, a red bow wrapped around the handlebar.

So we went on a crazy ride through the streets of Los Angeles. It was the first time I had ridden by myself, and I skidded over curbs and on the side walks. It was amazing, at night, with all the lights shining, and Nico holding on for dear life.

If you're wondering, Nico and I did go to the prom together. It was a large affair, in the ball room of a fancy hotel. Stephanie picked out a dress, a rather_ revealing_ black number. I rode my motorcycle, to other high schoolers', my father's, and Stephanie's obvious objections. Nico raised his eye brows when he saw the bike and my dress.

We had one dance together, and then left. We just had to have proof and pictures to show my parents that I did go.

I rode the bike, Nico clinging to me, to Disneyland. We rode all the rides, under the stars. People stared at us: the girl in the dress, the boy in the tuxedo. We looked like obvious misfits, the dregs of society.

But we ignored everything. We had fun, that one last night.

In line, waiting, I asked Nico. "If we were in a parallel universe, what would our names be?"

"Well, you'd be Melinda Hermann, a little Nazi," he replied, a hint of mischief in his voice.

"Then you'd be Nikolai Anjel, a little socialist," I shot back, superior. My father was part German, and Nico knew it.

"We'd be a pair of rather _undemocratic _kids, wouldn't we?" He said, grinning.

"We sure would."

So we rode the roller coasters. _All of them_. We had a great time.

I dropped Nico off at his apartment, past midnight. He got off, grimacing at the stress of trying to hold on to a moving motor cycle at night.

"Good bye, Min, my _kaiserin_." He said, fishing a ring of keys from his pocket. His tie was askew, his hair wind blown.

"Farewell, Nic, my _tsetsarevich,_" I replied. _Kaiserin, _I knew, meant "queen" in German. _Tsetsarevich_ was Russian for "prince".

I rode home alone, the wind blowing my hair, the breeze brushing my bare shoulders. Memories of the night whirled through my mind.

--

After high school, we drifted apart. I went to a university; Nico did what ever he did. He never told me. Drolnya, the crow, carried our letters, which became more and more infrequent as the time passed.

I suspected that Nico fought monsters, but he said he was just going "traveling". I worked with my mother, the archaeologist.

Nico and I rarely saw each other, and I missed him. But he was always there for me.

---

Eight years after returning from death, I was getting married.

My parents and the groom's parents paid millions for the perfect wedding, one sunny summer June in the Hamptons. The cake was enormous and many tiered, the dress was floor length, a marvel of silk and lace.

But I left Jonathan Prentiss on the altar, his mouth agape in shock and surprise. Well brought up girls did not leave their grooms on the day of their wedding. I did not care for social etiquette, rules, and manners.So I ran.

Like the night, eight years earlier, when I had run to Camp Half Blood, I ran now. My feet slapped on the pavement; my death trap white high heels had been thrown away into a Dumpster.

I ran, my veil flowing behind me, my dress brushing the concrete and asphalt. I ignored all the stares of disapproval that came my way.

I ran and ran, gasping for air, my dress torn and muddied.

But I kept on running.

To Nico's open arms.

**The End. **

**Forever. **

**Or is it?**

**---**

**Author's Note: Sorry that this had to be short, but I didn't have much time. I added the main stuff, stuff that'll be in the introduction chapters of the sequel, if I get enough reviews and decide to write it.**

**The (hopeful) sequel will be full of twists, and Min does end up marrying Jonathan Prentiss (what a shocker!).**

**The (possible) sequel is about Min and Jonathan's son, Alexei. That's why I had to slip in the Russian references and parallel/alternative universe crap.**

**For all of you that wanted romance: Too bad.**

**I just don't feel like being offensive tonight.**

**Have a great life.**

**Good bye. (slams door)**


End file.
